Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
POSITIONING A WEARABLE DEVICE FOR DATA COLLECTION
[0001]
BACKGROUND
[0002] Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this
section are not
prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior
art by inclusion in this
section.
[0003] Certain medical states or conditions of a human body can be
detected using
sensors disposed outside of the human body (e.g., disposed against, on, or
otherwise proximate
an external body surface of the human body). Some medical states or conditions
can change
slowly, occur rarely, or otherwise indicate that monitoring of the human body
over an extended
period of time is preferred. A sensor disposed in a wearable device can enable
long-term
monitoring of a medical state or condition of the body of a wearer while
allowing the wearer to
perfoini activities of daily living, to travel, to commute, or to engage in
other activities with
minimal interruption. Such monitoring by a wearable device could be performed
preventatively,
e.g., to monitor an otherwise healthy wearer's health state over time to
enable early detection of
an adverse medical condition, to develop data describing a 'healthy' baseline
state of the wearer,
or to enable other applications. Medical states or conditions of a human body
monitored by such
a wearable device can include pulse rate, blood oxygenation, activity level,
blood pressure,
galvanic skin response, or other information about the body of a wearer.
SUMMARY
[0004] Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a wearable
device including:
(i) at least two photodetectors, wherein the at least two photodetectors are
configured to detect
alignment of a target relative to the at least two photodetectors; (ii) a
mount configured to mount
the at least two photodetectors to an external body surface proximate to the
target; and (iii) a
controller configured to operate the at least two photodetectors to detect
alignment of the target
relative to the at least two photodetectors. In some examples, the target
comprises a portion of
subsurface vasculature. In some examples, the external body surface is a wrist
location.
[0005] The wearable device can further include at least one light emitter
configured to
illuminate the target.
1
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
[0006] The wearable device can further include an actuator, wherein the
actuator is
configured to control the location of the at least two photodetectors relative
to the target, and
wherein the controller is configured to operate the actuator to align the at
least two
photodetectors relative to the target.
[0007] The wearable device can further include a user interface, wherein
the user
interface is configured to indicate information relating to adjustment of the
wearable device to
align the at least two photodetectors relative to the target.
[0008] The wearable device can further include a further sensor, wherein
the further
sensor is configured to detect a property of the target when the at least two
photodetectors are
aligned relative to the target. Alignment of the target relative to the at
least two photodetectors
can be associated with alignment of the further sensor relative to the target,
and the controller can
be further configured to operate the further sensor to detect the property of
the target in response
to detecting that the at least two photodetectors are aligned relative to the
target.
[0009] Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a wearable
device including:
(i) at least two light emitters, wherein the at least two light emitters are
configured to illuminate a
target; (ii) at least one photodetector, wherein the at least one
photodetector is configured to
detect alignment of a target relative to the at least one photodetector by
detecting light emitted
from the target in response to illumination by the at least two light
emitters; (iii) a mount
configured to mount the at least two light emitters and at least one
photodetector to an external
body surface proximate to the target; and (iv) a controller configured to
operate the at least two
light emitters and at least one photodetector to detect alignment of the
target relative to the at
least one photodetector. In some examples, the target comprises a portion of
subsurface
vasculature. In some examples, the external body surface is a wrist location.
In some examples,
the at least two light emitters are arranged as a linear array.
[0010] In some examples, the at least one photodetector in the wearable
device is
configured to detect a property of the target when the at least one
photodetector is aligned
relative to the target, and the controller is further configured to operate
the at least one
photodetector to detect the property of the target in response to detecting
that the at least one
photodetector is aligned relative to the target.
[0011] The wearable device can further include an actuator, wherein the
actuator is
configured to control the location of the at least two light emitters and the
at least one
2
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
photodetector relative to the target, and wherein the controller is configured
to operate the
actuator to align the at least one photodetector relative to the target.
[0012] The wearable device can further include a user interface, wherein
the user
interface is configured to indicate information relating to adjustment of the
wearable device to
align the at least one photodetector relative to the target.
[0013] Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method that
involves
mounting a wearable device to an external body surface. The wearable device
includes (i) at
least one light emitter, (ii) at least one photodetector, (iii) a mount
configured to mount the at
least one light emitter and at least one photodetector to an external body
surface proximate to a
target, and (iv) a controller configured to operate the at least one light
emitter and at least one
two photodetector. The method further involves detecting, by the controller,
an alignment of the
at least one light emitter and at least one photodetector relative to the
target. In some examples,
the target comprises a portion of subsurface vasculature. In some examples,
the external body
surface is a wrist location.
[0014] The method can further involve emitting, by the at least one light
emitter, light
toward the target via the external body surface and detecting, by the at least
one photodetector,
light emitted from the target via the external body surface in response to the
light emitted by the
at least one light emitter, in which the emitting and detecting are performed
responsive to
detecting the alignment of the at least one light emitter and at least one
photodetector relative to
the target. Still further, the method can involve determining at least one
property of the target
based on the light emitted from the target and detected by the at least one
photodetector.
[0015] In some examples of the method, the at least one light emitter
comprises a
plurality of light emitters, and detecting the alignment of the at least one
light emitter and at least
one photodetector relative to the target comprises detecting that a particular
light emitter in the
plurality of light emitters and the at least one photodetector arc aligned
relative to the target.
[0016] In some examples of the method, the at least one photodetector
comprises a
plurality of photodetectors, and detecting the alignment of the at least one
light emitter and at
least one photodetector relative to the target comprises detecting that a
particular photodetector
in the plurality of photodetectors and the at least one light emitter are
aligned relative to the
target.
3
[0017] In some examples of the method, the wearable device further
includes a user
interface. In such examples, the method can further involve indicating, using
the user interface,
information related to adjustment of the wearable device to align the at least
one light emitter and
at least one photodetector relative to the target.
[0017a] According to an aspect, there is provided a wearable device,
comprising: first and
second photodetectors; a mount that can mount the wearable device to an
external body surface
such that the first and second photodetectors are proximate to a target; a
further sensor located
between the first and second photodetectors to detect a property of the
target, a processor; and a
non-transitory computer readable medium storing program instructions, wherein
the program
instructions are executable by the processor to perform operations comprising:
receiving data from
the first and second photodetectors; analyzing the data to determine whether
the target is aligned,
wherein the target is aligned when the first and second photodetectors detect
substantially equal
reflected light intensities from the target; operating at least one of the
first and second
photodetectors to detect whether the wearable device is mounted to the
external body surface; and
operating the further sensor to detect the property of the target in response
to detecting that the
target is aligned.
10017b1 According to another aspect, there is provided a wearable device,
comprising: first
and second light emitters; at least one photodetector; a mount that can mount
the wearable device
to an external body surface such that the first and second light emitters and
the at least one
photodetector are proximate to a target; a processor; and a non-transitory
computer readable
medium storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions are
executable by the
processor to perform operations comprising: operating the first and second
light emitters; receiving
data from the at least one photodetector; and analyzing the data to determine
whether the target is
aligned, wherein the target is aligned when the at least one photodetector
detects substantially
equal reflected light intensities of light emitted from the first and second
light emitters and
reflected from the target.
[0017c] According to another aspect, there is provided a wearable device,
comprising: a
first light emitter to illuminate a target via an external body surface; a
second light emitter to
illuminate the target via the external body surface; a photodetector to detect
data corresponding to
a first property of the target in response to illumination by the first light
emitter and data
corresponding to a second property of the target in response to illumination
by the second light
4
Date Recue/Date Received 2021-02-05
emitter, the first property and the second property being indicative of a
relative location of the
target with respect to the first light emitter and the second light emitter;
and a controller configured
to: operate the first and second light emitters; receive data from the
photodetector; and determine
whether the target is aligned based on the first and second relative locations
of the target, wherein
the target is aligned when the target is within a specified region between the
first light emitter and
the second light emitter.
[0018] These as well as other aspects, advantages, and alternatives, will
become apparent
to those of ordinary skill in the art by reading the following detailed
description, with reference
where appropriate to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] Figure lA is a cross-sectional view of an example wearable device
while on a
human wrist.
[0020] Figure 1B is a cross-sectional view of an example wearable device
while on a
human wrist and while two sensors of the example wearable device are aligned
with a target in the
wrist.
[0021] Figure 1C is a cross-sectional view of an example wearable device
while on a
human wrist and while a particular sensor of the example wearable device is
aligned with a target
in the wrist.
[0022] Figure 1D is a cross-sectional view of an example wearable device
while on a
human wrist and while a particular sensor of the example wearable device is
aligned with a target
in the wrist.
[0023] Figure lE is side partial cross-sectional view of an example
wearable device while
on a human wrist.
[0024] Figure 1F is a cross-sectional view of an example wearable device
while on a
human wrist and while a particular sensor of the example wearable device is
aligned with a target
in the wrist.
[0025] Figure 1G is a cross-sectional view of an example wearable device
while on a
human wrist and while a sensor of the example wearable device is aligned with
a target in the wrist.
[0026] Figure 1H is a cross-sectional view of an example wearable device
while on a
human wrist and while sensors of the example wearable device are aligned with
a target in the
wrist.
4a
Date Recue/Date Received 2021-02-05
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
[0027] Figure 2A is a cross-sectional view of an example wearable device
while on a
human wrist.
[0028] Figure 2B is a cross-sectional view of the example wearable device
illustrated in
Figure 2A while on a human wrist and while two sensors of the example wearable
device are
aligned with a target in the wrist.
100291 Figure 3A is side partial cross-sectional view of an example
wearable device
while on a human wrist.
[0030] Figure 3B is atop view of the example wearable device illustrated
in Figure 3A.
[0031] Figure 3C is a cross-sectional view of the example wearable device
illustrated in
Figure 3A while on a human wrist and while a particular sensor of the example
wearable device
is aligned with a target in the wrist.
[0032] Figure 3D is atop view of the example wearable device illustrated
in Figure 3C.
[0033] Figure 4 is a perspective view of an example wearable device.
[0034] Figure 5A is a perspective top view of an example wrist-mounted
device, when
mounted on a wearer's wrist.
[0035] Figure 5B is a perspective bottom view of an example wrist-mounted
device
shown in Figure 5A, when mounted on a wearer's wrist.
[0036] Figure 6 is a block diagram of an example system that includes a
plurality of
wearable devices in communication with a server.
[0037] Figure 7 is a functional block diagram of an example device.
[0038] Figure 8 is a flowchart of an example method.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0039] In the following detailed description, reference is made to the
accompanying
figures, which form a part hereof. In the figures, similar symbols typically
identify similar
components, unless context dictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments
described in the
detailed description, figures, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other
embodiments may
be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the scope
of the subject
matter presented herein. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the
present disclosure,
as generally described herein, and illustrated in the figures, can be
arranged, substituted,
combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety of different
configurations, all of which are
explicitly contemplated herein.
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
[0040] Further, while embodiments disclosed herein make reference to use on
or in
conjunction with a living human body, it is contemplated that the disclosed
methods, systems and
devices may be used in any environment where the operation of two or more
sensors to locate
the relative positioning of a target is desired. The environment may be any
living or non-living
body or a portion thereof, a gel, an emulsion, a fluid conduit, a fluid
reservoir, etc. For example,
one of skill in the art will recognize that the embodiments disclosed herein
may be used to sense
a target (e.g., a fluid conduit, pipe, or tube) within a manufactured device
or industrial
environment or work piece.
I. Overview
[0041] A wearable device may be configured to perform a variety of
different functions
and/or applications. In some examples, a wearable device is configured to
measure one or more
physiological parameters of the wearer. Measuring one or more physiological
parameters of the
wearer could include interacting with (e.g., receiving light from,
illuminating, detecting a
property of) a specific target within the body of the wearer. For example,
detecting the
concentration of an analyte in the bloodstream of the wearer could include
illuminating and
detecting light received from a portion of subsurface vasculature (e.g., a
vein or artery) beneath
the skin of the wearer. Other functions or applications of a wearable device
(e.g., delivery of
haptic sensations to the wearer, emission of energy to cause a change in one
or more analytes in
the blood of the wearer) could also be related to a specific target within the
body of the wearer.
Sensors or other components of a wearable device could be configured to detect
the location of
such specific targets relative to elements of the wearable device (i.e., to
detect the alignment of
the target relative to the elements of the wearable device).
[0042] The specific target could comprise a variety of elements of the body
of a wearer.
The target could be a portion of subsurface vasculature (e.g., a vein or
artery), a nerve, a muscle,
a bone, or some other element of the anatomy of the wearer. In some examples,
the target could
be an implanted device or object. For example, the target could be an
implanted polymer chip
configured to have a changing color related to the concentration of an analyte
(e.g., glucose) in
the environment of the polymer chip. The location of the target relative to
the wearable device
could include detecting a property of the target that is different from
neighboring regions of the
body of the wearer. For example, the target could be a vein and the wearable
device could detect
6
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
the color of light received from an external body surface to locate the vein
beneath the external
body surface. Detected properties of targets could include color, fluorescence
intensity,
fluorescence absorption spectrum, fluorescence emission spectrum, degree
and/or orientation of
polarization of reflected, emitted, or scattered light, light absorption
spectrum, acoustical
absorption spectrum, acoustical reflectivity, radiopacity, RF absorption
spectrum, or other
properties and/or features of the target.
[0043] The location and/or alignment of the target relative to the wearable
device could
be detected using one or more sensors configured to detect one or more
properties of the target.
For example, the wearable device could be configured to be mounted to a wrist
of the wearer and
could include two color sensors configured to detect the alignment of the
wearable device
relative to a vein in the wrist of the wearer. The color sensors could be
separated by a distance
related to the width of the vein and in a direction perpendicular to the
direction of the vein. As
such, the alignment of the vein between the color sensors could be detected by
detecting that the
output of the color sensors is substantially equal (i.e., that the vein is
equidistant to both of the
two sensors). In some examples, a plurality of sensors could be provided to
detect the alignment
of the target relative to the wearable device. The sensors of the plurality of
sensors could include
a single type of sensor or a plurality of sensor types. The plurality of
sensors could include
temperature sensors, energy sensors, electromagnetic sensors, light sensors,
chemical sensors,
acoustical sensors, infrared sensors, ultraviolet sensors, or other types of
sensors. For example,
the plurality of sensors could include photodetectors (e.g., light detectors,
color detectors,
polarity detectors, infrared detectors, ultraviolet detectors, cameras). In
some examples, one or
more of the plurality of sensors could include energy emitters (e.g., light
emitters, heaters,
acoustical transducers) configured to enable detection of some property of the
environment of a
sensor by illuminating, heating, or otherwise introducing an energy to the
environment of the
sensor.
[0044] Additionally or alternatively, the location and/or alignment of the
target relative to
the wearable device could be detected using one or more light emitters
configured to emit light to
illuminate the target and at least one photodetector configured to detect
light emitted from the
target in response to the illumination. For example, the wearable device could
be configured to
be mounted to a wrist of the wearer and could include two or more light
emitters configured to
emit light into respective regions of the wrist of the wearer (e.g., regions
proximate to respective
7
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
light emitters). Further, light emitted by the light emitters is
preferentially reflected, refracted, or
otherwise scattered by the target (e.g., by blood in a portion of subsurface
vasculature, by a wall
of a portion of subsurface vasculature) relative to other elements in the
environment of the target
(e.g., skin, connective tissue). The light emitters could be operated to emit
respective amounts of
light over time (e.g., pulses of illumination, alternating between individual
light emitters and/or
groups thereof between different periods of time) such that the alignment of
the target relative to
the light emitters and photodetector could be detected by detecting a
proximity between the
target and individual plight emitters based on a level of light received by
the photodetector
during respective periods of time corresponding to periods of time during
which respective light
emitters are emitting light.
[0045] The wearable device could include a plurality of sensor and/or light
emitters that
could be arranged according to an application of the wearable device. For
example, the sensors
and/or light emitters could be arranged in a linear array. A linear array of
sensors and/or light
emitters could be especially useful in applications wherein the wearable
device is configured to
be mounted around a wrist or other protruding anatomy of a wearer. The
alignment of such a
wearable device with a target (e.g., a vein, nerve, bone, or other anatomical
element disposed
largely parallel to the direction of the protruding anatomy) could be related
to a rotation of the
wearable device about the protruding anatomy (e.g., an angle measured about
the center of the
protruding anatomy between an element of the wearable device and the target in
the protruding
anatomy) such that a linear array of sensors and/or light emitters arranged
along an external
surface of the protruding anatomy and perpendicular to the direction of the
protruding anatomy
could be used to measure the alignment of (e.g., angle between) the wearable
device and the
target. Other one- and two-dimensional patterns (e.g., rectangular and
hexagonal grids) of
sensors and/or light emitters are anticipated to enable the detection of the
location and/or
alignment of a variety of targets according to a variety of applications.
[0046] In some examples, the wearable device could detect alignment
relative to a target
by detecting the location of (and/or alignment relative to) some other
alignment feature. In some
examples, the alignment feature could have a known and/or specified location
or orientation
relative to the target, such that detection of the location of the alignment
feature could be used to
determine the location of the target. For example, the alignment feature could
be a tendon in the
wrist of a wearer that has a known spatial relationship with a target artery
in the wrist. The
8
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
alignment and/or location of the alignment feature relative to the wearable
device could be in
some sense easier to detect and/or able to be detected more quickly, more
precisely, and/or more
accurately by the wearable device than the location of the target relative to
the wearable device;
as such, determination of the location of the alignment feature could allow a
quicker, more
precise, more accurate, or in some other way superior determination of the
location and/or
alignment of the target than a direct determination of the location and/or
alignment of the target.
In some examples, the alignment feature could be an artificial feature (e.g.,
a tattoo, a temporary
tattoo, a piercing, a label adhered to skin, an implanted marker or other
device) having a known
location and/or orientation relative to a target. For example, a tattoo
comprising a fluorescent
dye could be applied to an external body surface above a target (e.g., a
nerve). Note that the
target could simply be a region of tissue of a wearer having known properties
(e.g., a known
baseline, a known pattern of innervation, etc.) according to an application.
The location of such
targets could be detected based on alignment features.
[0047] In
some examples, detection of the alignment of a target relative to the wearable
device could enable the detection of one or more properties of the target
and/or of the body of the
wearer. For example, a sensor of the wearable device could be configured to
detect the
concentration of an analyte in the blood when the sensor is aligned with a
portion of vasculature
of the wearer. Detection of the alignment of the portion of vasculature with
the wearable device
(i.e., with the sensor) could be used to operate the sensor to detect the
concentration of the
analyte in the blood in the portion of vasculature. Additionally or
alternatively, the sensors
employed to detect the alignment of the target could additionally be
configured to detect one or
more properties of the target and/or of the body of the wearer. The presence
of two or more such
sensors could enable detection of the one or more properties across a wider
variety of relative
alignments of the target with the wearable device. In some examples, detection
of the alignment
of a target relative to the wearable device could enable the modification of
some element of the
body of the wearer by the wearable device. For example, an energy emitter
(e.g., a light source,
an RF emitter, an acoustic transducer) of the wearable device could be
configured to modify (e.g.,
heat, denature, destroy, cause a change in state of) an analyte in the blood
when the energy
emitter is aligned with a portion of vasculature of the wearer. Detection of
the alignment of the
portion of vasculature with the wearable device (i.e., with the energy
emitter) could be used to
operate the energy emitter to modify the analyte in the blood in the portion
of vasculature. Other
9
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
applications of detection of the location and/or alignment of a target
relative to a wearable device
are anticipated.
[0048] Detection of the alignment and/or location of a target relative to
the wearable
device could be used to effect a change in the alignment between the target
and the wearable
device. In some examples, the wearable device could be configured to indicate
the level,
direction, angle, or some other property of the detected alignment (e.g., by
providing a tone, a
vibration, a visual indication) such that the wearer could adjust the wearable
device to align the
wearable device with the target (e.g., by rotating the wearable device about a
wrist to which the
wearable device is mounted). In some examples, the wearable device could
include an actuator
(e.g., a motor, a solenoid) and the actuator could be operated to adjust the
alignment of an
element or elements (e.g., a sensor, an energy emitter) of the wearable device
with the target.
Adjustment of the alignment of the wearable device could be indicated/effected
periodically or in
response to some condition (e.g., a determination that the alignment between
the wearable device
and the target had decreased below some threshold level).
[0049] In some examples, the wearable device may include a user interface
that is
configured to provide user-discernible indications (e.g., visual, audible,
and/or tactile indications)
of information sensed by sensors of the wearable device, progress or other
information related to
a function of the device, or other information. In some examples, the user
interface could
additionally provide a means for one or more settings of the wearable device
(e.g., a sampling
rate, a user information privacy setting, a user's credentials to access a
service) to be specified by
a wearer according to the wearer's preferences. In some examples, the wearable
device may
include a wireless communication interface that can transmit/receive data
to/from an external
device, for example, using Bluetooth, ZigBee, WiFi, and/or some other wireless
communication
protocol. The data transmitted by the wireless communication interface may
include data
indicative of one or more physiological parameters measured by the device, the
alignment of a
target relative to the device, a blood oxygenation level, or the concentration
of an analyte in the
blood of the wearer. The wireless communications interface could additionally
or alternatively
be configured to receive data from an external system (e.g., parameters
relating to the operation
of an energy emitter configured to emit energy into blood of the wearer to
effect a change in
some analyte in the blood).
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
Example Wearable Devices
[0050] Wearable devices as described herein can be configured to be
mounted to an
external body surface of a wearer and to enable a variety of applications and
functions including
the detection of alignment between a target on or within the body of the
wearer and one or more
components of the wearable devices. Two or more sensors (e.g., photodetectors)
and/or two or
more light emitters could be used to detect alignment of a target on or within
the body of the
wearer when the wearable device is mounted to the external body surface.
Alignment could
include the target having a relative location and/or orientation relative to
elements of the
wearable device (e.g., the at least two sensors, the at least two light
emitters) in one or more
dimensions. Such wearable devices could enable a variety of applications,
including measuring
physiological infoimation about a wearer, indicating such measured
physiological information or
other information to the wearer (e.g., using a vibrator, a screen, a beeper),
or other functions.
The wearable device could be operated relative to a target alignment detected
using the at least
two sensors.
[0051] Thc two or more sensors and/or two or more light emitters being
used to detect
the alignment of a target could include detecting a location, orientation, or
some other
information about the configuration of the target relative to the location,
orientation, and/or
configuration of the two or more sensors, two or more light emitters, and/or
other elements of a
wearable device. In some examples, detecting alignment of the target could
include detecting
and/or generating a continuous variable related to the alignment of the
target. For example, the
two or more sensors and/or two or more light emitters could be configured to
detect a distance
and/or direction between the location of the target and the location of an
element of the wearable
device.
[0052] In some examples, detecting alignment of the target could include
determining
categorical and/or qualitative information related to the alignment of the
target. For example, the
two or more sensors and/or two or more light emitters could be configured to
generate
information to determine a binary variable related to whether the target is
"aligned" (e.g.,
location within and/or passing through a specified region relative to the
wearable device).
Alignment of a target could include the target being within and/or partially
occupying a specified
region relative to the two or more sensors, two or more light emitters, and/or
other elements of
the wearable device. For example, alignment could include the target occupying
and/or passing
11
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
=
through a region directly below one of the two or more sensors and/or two or
more light emitters,
a region midway between two sensors or two light emitters, or some other
specified region or
regions. Alignment of a target could include the target being within and/or
partially occupying
one of more than one specified region. For example, alignment could include
the target
occupying and/or passing through a region directly below any particular sensor
and/or light
emitter in an array of two or more sensors and/or two or more light emitters.
[0053] Figure 1A is a partial cross-sectional view through a human wrist
105a illustrating
an example wearable device 100a when mounted to the human wrist 105a. The
wearable device
100a includes a housing 110a (e.g., a water-resistant and/or water-proof
housing) configured to
contain electronic components and to be mounted to an external body surface of
a wearer by a
mount 120a. The mount 120a can be a band configured to enclose the wrist 105a
and to position
first 130b and second 140a sensors in the housing 110a proximate to a target
107a (i.e., a portion
of subsurface vasculature) in the wrist 105a. The wearable device 100a
includes additional
elements that are not shown, e.g., electronics configured to operate the first
130a and second
140a sensors and to enable applications and/or functions of the wearable
device 100a, a
rechargeable battery configured to power the wearable device 100a, or other
components.
Components of the wearable device 100a could be disposed on or within the
housing 110a, the
mount 120a, or some other elements of the wearable device 100a (not shown);
e.g., a second
housing.
[0054] The housing 110a could be configured to be water-resistant and/or
water-proof
That is, the housing 110a could be configured to include sealants, adhesives,
gaskets, welds,
press-fitted seams, and/or other joints such that the housing 110a was
resistant to water entering
an internal volume or volumes of the housing 110a when the housing 110a is
exposed to water.
The housing 110a could further be water-proof, i.e., resistant to water
entering an internal
volume or volumes of the housing 110a when the housing 110a is submerged in
water. For
example, the housing 110a could be water-proof to a depth of 1 meter, i.e.,
configured to resist
water entering an internal volume or volumes of the housing 110a when the
housing 110a is
submerged to a depth of 1 meter. Further, the interface between the housing
110a and other
elements of the wearable device 100a (e.g., elements of a sensor, buttons,
user interface elements,
electrical contacts, sensors 130a, 140a) protruding from, embedded in the
surface of, or
otherwise interrupting the material of the housing 110a could be configured
such that the
12
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
combination of the housing 110a and the other elements of the wearable device
100a is water-
resistant and/or water-proof.
[0055] The sensors 130a, 140a could include one or more photodetectors
(e.g., light
sensors, IR sensors, UV sensors), electric field sensors, magnetic field
sensors, electromagnetic
energy sensors, temperature sensors, electric current sensors, electric
potential sensor, acoustical
sensors, force transducers, or some other sensors or combination(s) of
sensors. The sensors 130a,
140a could include one or more light emitters, IR emitters, electromagnetic
energy emitters,
heaters, vibrators, acoustical energy emitters, force transducers, or some
other energy emitters.
One or both of the sensors 130a, 140a could be configured to operate in direct
contact with an
external body surface of the wearer (e.g., configured to include a heat- or
electricity- conducting
probe or other element in physical contact with the skin of the wearer to
facilitate detection of
one or more properties of the body of the wearer). Additionally or
alternatively, one or both of
the sensors 130a, 140a could be configured to indirectly (i.e., without
directly contacting an
external body surface of the wearer) detect information about the target 107a
or some other
element or elements of the wearer's body (e.g., to detect electromagnetic,
optical, acoustical, or
other fields and/or energies emitted, reflected, scattered and/or generated by
elements of the
wearer's body and received by the sensors 130a, 140a).
[0056] The sensors 130a, 140a could interact with and/or detect one or
more properties of
specific elements or components of the body of the wearer (e.g., the target
107a). In some
examples, one or both of the sensors 130a, 140a could act to illuminate or
otherwise direct
energy toward elements in the body of the wearer (e.g., the target 107a) and
could detect a light
or other energy emitted by, reflected by, scattered by, or otherwise received
from the elements in
response to the illumination and/or direction of energy toward the elements.
For example, one or
both of the sensors 130a, 140a could be configured to illuminate a
fluorophore, chromophore, or
other optic chemical, moiety, analyte, or other element of the body of the
wearer and to detect
light emitted, scattered, reflected, or otherwise received from the element of
the body of the
wearer in response to the illumination. One or more properties of the
illumination and/or of the
detected light could be used to determine one or more properties of the body
of the wearer. For
example, a color of light received by a sensor could be used to determine
whether the target 107a
(a portion of subsurface vaseulature) is in a specified direction (i.e., a
direction of light
sensitivity of the sensor) by comparing the color of the received light to an
expected color of the
13
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
target 107a (e.g., a blue color of a vein). In another example, a sensor could
be configured to
emit a pulse of acoustic energy and to detect a time delay of acoustic energy
reflected by the
target 107a; the detected time delay could be related to a distance between
the sensor and the
target 107a.
[0057] In some examples, the body of the wearer (e.g., the target 107a,
i.e., subsurface
vasculature) could include artificial or other contrast agents (e.g.,
fluorophores, fluorescent
nanodiamonds, chromophores, acoustic particles, magnetic particles)
functionalized or otherwise
configured to enable the detection of alignment of the target 107a and/or of
one or more
properties of the body of the wearer using sensors (e.g., 130a, 140a) of the
wearable device 100a.
For example, a contrast agent including a fluorophore could be configured to
selectively bind to
an analyte of interest in the blood of the wearer, and a sensor (e.g., 130a,
140a) could be operated
to determine to presence, location, binding state, or other properties of the
contrast agent in the
blood. The determined one or more properties of the contrast agent could be
used to determine
an alignment of the target 107a relative to the sensor and/or other
component(s) of the wearable
device 100a. Other contrast agents, properties of the body of the wearer, and
configurations and
method of operation of the wearable device 100a are anticipated.
[0058] As illustrated in Figure 1A, the target 107a is located beneath the
housing 110a, at
a location between the first 130a and second 140a sensors. In some
embodiments, the first 130a
and second 140a sensors could be configured to determine the location of the
target 107a relative
to the sensors 130a, 140a, the housing 110a, or some other element(s) of the
wearable device
100a. That is, detecting alignment of the target 107a could include operating
the sensors 130a,
140a, to detect the location, orientation, or some other information about the
disposition of the
target 107a. In some embodiments, the illustrated location of the target 107a
relative to the
sensors 130a, 140a, housing 110a, and/or other components of the wearable
device 100a could be
one of one or more specified locations, such that the target 107a is aligned
relative to element(s)
of the wearable device 100a. Thus, the sensors 130a, 140a could be operated as
described above
to detect the location, orientation, or some other information about the
target 107a and a
determination that the target 107a is aligned could be made based on such
detected information.
Additionally or alternatively, the sensors 130a, 140a could be configured to
detect some
categorical and/or qualitative information about the alignment of the target
107a. For example,
the sensors 130a, 140a could be configured to detect that the alignment of the
target 107a
14
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
corresponds to one of a discrete set of states, e.g., ' aligned,"nearly
aligned,' not aligned,' not
aligned in the direction of the first sensor 130a,"not aligned in the
direction of the second sensor
140a,' etc. That is, in some examples the disposition of the target 107a
relative to component(s)
of the wearable device 100a could be such that the target 107a is not aligned.
[0059] Figure 1B is a partial cross-sectional view through a human wrist
105b illustrating
an example wearable device 100b when mounted to the human wrist 105b. The
wearable device
100b could be configured similarly to the wearable device 100a of Figure 1A,
and includes a
housing 110b (e.g., a water-resistant and/or water-proof housing) configured
to contain electronic
components and to be mounted to an external body surface of a wearer by a
mount 120b. The
mount 120b can be a band configured to enclose the wrist 105b and to position
first 140b and
second 140b sensors in the housing 110b proximate to a target 107b (i.e., a
portion of subsurface
vasculature) in the wrist 105b.
[0060] As illustrated in Figure 1B, the target 107b is located beneath the
housing 110b, at
a location midway between the first 130b and second 140b sensors. In some
embodiments, the
first 130b and second 140b sensors could be configured to deteimine the
location of the target
107b relative to the sensors 130b, 140b, the housing 110b, or some other
element(s) of the
wearable device 100a. That is, detecting alignment of the target 107b could
include operating
the sensors 130b, 140b, to detect the location, orientation, or some other
information about the
disposition of the target 107b. In some embodiments, the illustrated location
of the target 107b
relative to the sensors 130b, 140b, housing 110b, and/or other components of
the wearable
device 100b could be one of one or more specified locations, such that the
target 107b is aligned
relative to element(s) of the wearable device 100b. Thus, the sensors 130a,
140a could be
operated as described above to detect the location, orientation, or some other
information about
the target 107b and a detemiination that the target 107b is aligned could be
made based on such
detected information. Additionally or alternatively, the sensors 130b, 140b
could be configured
to detect some categorical and/or qualitative information about the alignment
of the target 107b.
For example, the sensors 130b, 140b could be configured to detect that the
alignment of the
target 107b corresponds to one of a discrete set of states, e.g., 'aligned,'
nearly aligned,' not
aligned,' not aligned in the direction of the first sensor 130b,' 'not aligned
in the direction of the
second sensor 140b,' etc. For example, the sensors 130b, 140b could determine
that the target
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
107b is aligned based on a property detected by the sensors 130b, 140b (e.g.,
a reflected light
intensity, an echo signal latency) being substantially equal.
[0061] Figure 1C is a partial cross-sectional view through a human wrist
105c illustrating
an example wearable device 100c when mounted to the human wrist 105c. The
wearable device
100c could be configured similarly to the wearable devices 100a, 1006 of
Figures 1 A and 1B,
and includes a housing 110c (e.g., a water-resistant and/or water-proof
housing) configured to
contain electronic components and to be mounted to an external body surface of
a wearer by a
mount 120c. The mount 120c can be a band configured to enclose the wrist 105c
and to position
first 140c and second 140c sensors in the housing 110c proximate to a target
107c (i.e., a portion
of subsurface vasculature) in the wrist 105c.
[0062] As illustrated in Figure 1C, the target 107c is located beneath the
housing 110c, at
a location beneath the second 140c sensor. In some embodiments, the first 130c
and second 140c
sensors could be configured to determine the location of the target 107c
relative to the sensors
130c, 140c, the housing 110c, or some other element(s) of the wearable device
100c. That is,
detecting alignment of the target 107c could include operating the sensors
130c, 140c, to detect
the location, orientation, or some other information about the disposition of
the target 107e. In
some embodiments, the illustrated location of the target 107e relative to the
sensors 130c, 140e,
housing 110c, and/or other components of the wearable device 100c could be one
of one or more
specified locations, such that the target 107c is aligned relative to
element(s) of the wearable
device 100c. Additionally or alternatively, the target 107c being located
beneath the first sensor
130c could be one of one or more specified alignment locations. Thus, the
sensors 130c, 140c
could be operated as described above to detect the location, orientation, or
some other
information about the target 107c and a determination that the target 107c is
aligned could be
made based on such detected information. Additionally or alternatively, the
sensors 130e, 140e
could be configured to detect some categorical and/or qualitative information
about the
alignment of the target 107e. For example, the sensors 130e, 140c could be
configured to detect
that the alignment of the target 107c corresponds to one of a discrete set of
states, e.g., 'aligned,'
'aligned with the first sensor 130c,"aligned with the second sensor
140c,"nearly aligned,' not
aligned,' not aligned in an upward direction,' not aligned in a downward
direction,' etc. In
some examples, the sensors 130c, 140c could determine that the target 107c is
aligned based on a
16
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
property detected by the sensors 130b, 140c (e.g., a reflected light
intensity, an echo signal
latency) being substantially equal to some minimal or maximal value.
[0063] In some examples, one or more sensors of a wearable device as
described herein
could be configured to detect some physiological or other property of the
wearer in addition to
detecting the alignment of a target on or within the body of the wearer. For
example, the second
sensor 140c of the wearable device 100c illustrated in Figure 1C could be
configured to detect a
physiological or other property of the wearer and/or of the target 107c (e.g.,
a blood flow rate, a
pulse rate, a blood oxygenation, a blood temperature, a concentration of an
analyte in blood)
when the second sensor 140c is aligned with (e.g., disposed above) the target
107c. Further
operation of the second sensor 140c to detect the physiological property could
be performed in
response to a determination (e.g., using the first 130c and/or second 140c
sensors) that the target
107c is aligned with the second sensor 140c. Additionally or alternatively,
operation of the
second sensor 140c to detect the physiological property could be related to
the detected
alignment (e.g., detected using the first 130c and second 140c sensors). For
example, a mapping
or other calculation performed to determine a value of a detected
physiological property based on
a measurement generated by the second sensor 140c could be based on a
determined and/or
detected alignment of the target 107c; e.g., an amplitude of a generated
measurement could be
normalized based on a detected alignment of the target 107c to correct for
effects of proximity
between the target 107c and the second sensor 140c on measurements generated
by the second
sensor 140c.
[0064] Additionally or alternatively, a wearable device could include two
or more sensors
configured to detect alignment of a target, and one or more further sensors
configured to detect a
physiological or other property (e.g., a blood flow rate, a pulse rate, a
blood oxygenation, a blood
temperature, a concentration of an analyte in blood) of the wearer and/or of
the target. The
further sensor(s) could be configured to detect the property of the wearer
and/or target when the
target has a specified disposition (e.g., location, orientation) relative to
the further sensor (i.e.,
when the target is aligned with the further sensor). The operation of the
further sensor to detect
the property of the wearer and/or target could be performed in response to a
determination (e.g.,
using the two or more sensors) that the target is aligned with the further
sensor. Additionally or
alternatively, operation of the further sensor to detect the property of the
wearer and/or target
could be related to the detected alignment. For example, a mapping or other
calculation
17
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
performed to determine a value of a detected property based on a measurement
generated by the
further sensor could be based on a determined and/or detected alignment of the
target; e.g., an
amplitude of a generated measurement could be normalized based on a detected
alignment of the
target to correct for effects of proximity between the target and the further
sensor on
measurements generated by the further sensor.
[0065] Figure 1D illustrates such a wearable device 100d. Figure 1D is a
partial cross-
sectional view through a human wrist 105d illustrating an example wearable
device 100d when
mounted to the human wrist 105d. The wearable device 100d could be configured
similarly to
the wearable devices 100a, 100b, 100c of Figures 1A, 1B, and 1C, and includes
a housing 110d
(e.g., a water-resistant and/or water-proof housing) configured to contain
electronic components
and to be mounted to an external body surface of a wearer by a mount 120d. The
mount 120d
can be a band configured to enclose the wrist 105d and to position first 140d
and second 140d
sensors in the housing 110d proximate to a target 107d (i.e., a portion of
subsurface vasculature)
in the wrist 105d. The wearable device 100d further includes a further sensor
150d configured to
detect one or more physiological properties of the wearer (e.g., of the target
107d) when the
target 107d is aligned with the wearable device 100d (i.e., aligned with the
farther sensor 150d).
[0066] As illustrated in Figure 1D, the target 107d is located beneath the
housing 110d, at
a location beneath the further sensor 150d. In some embodiments, the first
130c1 and second
140d sensors could be configured to determine the location of the target 107d
relative to the
sensors 130d, 140d, the housing 110d, the further sensor 150d, or some other
element(s) of the
wearable device 100d. That is, detecting alignment of the target 107d could
include operating
the sensors 130d, 140d, to detect the location, orientation, or some other
information about the
disposition of the target 107d. The further sensor 150d could also be
configured to detect, alone
or in concert with the other sensors 130d, 140d, the alignment of the target
107d. Thus, the
sensors 130d, 140d could be operated as described above to detect the
location, orientation, or
some other information about the target 107d and a determination that the
target 107d is aligned
could be made based on such detected information. Additionally or
alternatively, the sensors
130d, 140d could be configured to detect some categorical and/or qualitative
information about
the alignment of the target 107d. For example, the sensors 130d, 140d could be
configured to
detect that the alignment of the target 107d corresponds to one of a discrete
set of states, e.g.,
'aligned,' nearly aligned,' not aligned,' not aligned in a direction toward
the first sensor 130d,'
18
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
not aligned in a direction toward the second sensor 140d,' etc. In some
examples, the sensors
130d, 140d could determine that the target 107d is aligned based on a property
detected by the
sensors 130d, 140d (e.g., a reflected light intensity, an echo signal latency)
being substantially
equal.
[0067] Note that the further sensor 150d could include an energy emitter
configured to
emit some energy (e.g., light, infrared, ultraviolet, acoustic, ultrasonic,
electromagnetic, thermal,
etc.). The energy could be emitted to enable detection of some property of the
wearer and/or a
target (e.g., 107d) by active detection (i.e., illuminating or otherwise
exposing the target to
energy such that a change in the target (e.g., a fluorescence, a temperature
change, a scattering of
energy) related to the property can be detected). Alignment of a target with
the further sensor
150d could include alignment of the target with the energy emitter. The
further sensor 150d
could include other elements, including but not limited to magnets, filters,
polarizers, magnetic
shimming and/or shielding materials, and diffraction gratings.
[0068] Additionally or alternatively, the further sensor 150d illustrated
in Figure 1D
could include some other element, component, or device. In some examples, the
wearable
device 100d could include an energy emitter configured to emit some energy
(e.g., visible light,
infrared light, ultraviolet light, heat, acoustical pulses) in order to effect
some change in the body
of the wearer and/or components thereof (e.g., to denature, destroy, or
otherwise alter some
analyte in the subsurface vasculature of the wearer that has a negative health
effect on the wearer,
e.g., a cancer cell). In some examples, the wearable device 100d could include
a high-strength
magnet configured to attract magnetic particles in a lumen of subsurface
vasculature proximate
to the high-strength magnet, and two or more sensors of the wearable device
could be configured
to detect alignment of the subsurface vasculature (i.e., the target) with the
high-strength magnet
such that magnetic fields emitted by the high-strength magnet can act to
attract, collect, or
otherwise exert magnetic forces on the magnetic particles. Other
configurations, operations, and
applications of wearable devices, and alignments with component(s) of such
wearable devices to
enable or otherwise affect such operations and/or applications, are
anticipated.
100691 A wearable device could include a plurality of sensors configured in
a variety of
ways to enable detection of alignment of a target relative to the plurality of
sensors and/or other
component(s) of the wearable device. Figure lE illustrates such a wearable
device 100e. Figure
lE is a partial cross-sectional view through a human wrist 105e illustrating
an example wearable
19
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
device 100e when mounted to the human wrist 105e. The wearable device 100e
could be
configured similarly to the wearable devices 100a, 100b, 100c of Figures 1A,
1B, and 1C, and
includes a housing 110e (e.g., a water-resistant and/or water-proof housing)
configured to contain
electronic components and to be mounted to an external body surface of a
wearer by a mount
120e. The mount 120e can be a band configured to enclose the wrist 105e and to
position a
plurality of sensors 131e, 132e, 133e, 134e, 135e, 136e in the housing 110e
proximate to a target
107e (i.e., a portion of subsurface vasculature) in the wrist 105e.
[0070] As illustrated in Figure 1E, the target 107e is located beneath the
housing 110e, at
a location proximate to the sensors 131e, 132e, 133e, 134e, 135e, 136e. In
some embodiments,
the sensors 131e, 132e, 133e, 134e, 135e, 136e could be configured to
determine the location of
the target 107e relative to the sensors 131e, 132e, 133e, 134e, 135e, 136e,
the housing 110e, or
some other element(s) of the wearable device 100e. That is, detecting
alignment of the target
107e could include operating the sensors 131e, 132e, 133e, 134e, 135e, 136e to
detect the
location, orientation, or some other information about the disposition of the
target 107e. In some
embodiments, the illustrated location of the target 107e relative to the
sensors 131e, 132e, 133e,
134e, 135e, 136e, housing 110e, and/or other components of the wearable device
100e could be
one of one or more specified locations, such that the target 107e is aligned
relative to element(s)
of the wearable device 100e. Thus, the sensors 131e, 132e, 133e, 134e, 135e,
136e could be
operated as described above to detect the location, orientation, or some other
information about
the target 107e and a determination that the target 107e is aligned could be
made based on such
detected infonnation. Additionally or alternatively, the sensors 131e, 132e,
133e, 134e, 135e,
136e could be configured to detect some categorical and/or qualitative
information about the
alignment of the target 107e. For example, the sensors 131e, 132e, 133e, 134e,
135e, 136e could
be configured to detect that the alignment of the target 107e corresponds to
one of a discrete set
of states, e.g., 'aligned,' nearly aligned,' not aligned,' aligned with a
first sensor 131e,'
'aligned with a second sensor 132e,"not aligned between a first set of two
sensors 131e, 132e,'
'not aligned between a second pair of sensors 132e, 133e,"not aligned between
a third pair of
sensors 133e, 134e,' etc. That is, in some examples the disposition of the
target 107e relative to
component(s) of the wearable device 100e could be such that the target 107e is
not aligned.
[0071] Figure 1F is a partial cross-sectional view through a human wrist
105f illustrating
an example wearable device 100f when mounted to the human wrist 105f. The
wearable device
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
100f could be configured similarly to the wearable devices 100a, 100b, 100c,
100d, 100e of
Figures 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E, and includes a housing 110f (e.g., a water-
resistant and/or
water-proof housing) configured to contain electronic components and to be
mounted to an
external body surface of a wearer by a mount 120f. The mount 120f can be a
band configured to
enclose the wrist 105f and to position a plurality of sensors 131f, 132f,
133f, 134f, 135f, 136f in
the housing 110f proximate to a target 107f (i.e., a portion of subsurface
vaseulature) in the wrist
105f. The wearable device 100f further includes a further sensor 150f
configured to detect one
or more physiological properties of the wearer (e.g., of the target 107f) when
the target 107f is
aligned with the wearable device 100f (i.e., aligned with the further sensor
150f).
[00721 As
illustrated in Figure 1F, the target 107f is located beneath the housing 110f,
at
a location beneath the further sensor 150d. In some embodiments, the sensors
131f, 132f, 133f,
134f, 135f, 136f could be configured to determine the location of the target
107f relative to the
sensors 131f, 132f, 133f, 134f, 135f, 136f, the housing 110f, the further
sensor 150f, or some
other element(s) of the wearable device 100f. That is, detecting alignment of
the target 107f
could include operating the sensors 131f, 132f, 133f, 134f, 135f, 136f to
detect the location,
orientation, or some other infoimation about the disposition of the target
107f. The further
sensor 150f could also be configured to detect, alone or in concert with the
other sensors 131f,
132f, 133f, 134f, 135f, 136f, the alignment of the target 107f. Thus, the
sensors 131f, 132f, 133f,
134f, 135f, 1361' could be operated as described above to detect the location,
orientation, or some
other information about the target 107f and a determination that the target
107f is aligned could
be made based on such detected information. Additionally or alternatively, the
sensors 131f,
1321, 133f, 134f, 135f, 136f could be configured to detect some categorical
and/or qualitative
information about the alignment of the target 107f. For example, the sensors
131f, 132f, 133f,
134f, 135f, 136f could be configured to detect that the alignment of the
target 107f corresponds
to one of a discrete set of states, e.g., 'aligned,' nearly aligned,' not
aligned,' aligned with the
further sensor 150f,' 'aligned with a first sensor 13 if,' with a
second sensor 132f,"not
aligned between a first set of two sensors 131f, 132f,'not aligned between a
second pair of
sensors 132f, 133f,"not aligned between a third pair of sensors 134f, 135f,'
etc. That is, in some
examples the disposition of the target 1071 relative to component(s) of the
wearable device 100f
(e.g., the further sensor 1501) could be such that the target 107f is not
aligned.
21
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
[0073] Note that the further sensor 150f could include an energy emitter
configured to
emit some energy (e.g., light, infrared, ultraviolet, acoustic, ultrasonic,
electromagnetic, thermal,
etc.). The energy could be emitted to enable detection of some property of the
wearer and/or a
target (e.g., 1070 by active detection (i.e., illuminating or otherwise
exposing the target to energy
such that a change in the target (e.g., a fluorescence, a temperature change,
a scattering of
energy) related to the property can be detected). Alignment of a target with
the further sensor
150f could include alignment of the target with the energy emitter. The
further sensor 150f could
include other elements, including but not limited to magnets, filters,
polarizers, magnetic
shimming and/or shielding materials, and diffraction gratings.
[0074] Additionally or alternatively, the further sensor 150f illustrated
in Figure 1F could
include some other element, component, or device. In some examples, the
wearable device 100f
could include an energy emitter configured to emit some energy (e.g., visible
light, infrared light,
ultraviolet light, heat, acoustical pulses) in order to effect some change in
the body of the wearer
and/or components thereof (e.g., to denature, destroy, or otherwise alter some
analyte in the
subsurface vasculature of the wearer that has a negative health effect on the
wearer, e.g., a cancer
cell). In some examples, the wearable device 100f could include a high-
strength magnet
configured to attract magnetic particles in a lumen of subsurface vasculature
proximate to the
high-strength magnet, and two or more sensors of the wearable device could be
configured to
detect alignment of the subsurface vasculature (i.e., the target) with the
high-strength magnet
such that magnetic fields emitted by the high-strength magnet can act to
attract, collect, or
otherwise exert magnetic forces on the magnetic particles. Other
configurations, operations, and
applications of wearable devices, and alignments with component(s) of such
wearable devices to
enable or otherwise affect such operations and/or applications, are
anticipated.
[0075] Figure 1G is a partial cross-sectional view through a human wrist
105g illustrating
an example wearable device 100g when mounted to the human wrist 105g. The
wearable device
100g could be configured similarly to the wearable devices 100a, 100b, 100c,
100d, 100e, 100f
of Figures 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, and 1F and includes a housing 110g (e.g., a
water-resistant and/or
water-proof housing) configured to contain electronic components and to be
mounted to an
external body surface of a wearer by a mount 120g. The mount 120g can be a
band configured
to enclose the wrist 105g and to position a photodetector 130g and first 151g
and second 152g
22
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
light emitters in the housing 110g proximate to a target 107g (i.e., a portion
of subsurface
vasculature) in the wrist 105g.
[0076] The light emitters 151g, 152g could include a varitety of light-
emitting
components (e.g., LEDS, lasers, electroluminescent panels or wire, IR
emitters, UV emitters),
refracting elements (e.g., lenses, dichroic elements), reflecting elements
(e.g., flat or curved
mirrors), differacting elements (e.g., gratings), polarizers, half or quarter
wave plates, filters,
apertures, liquid crystal elements (e.g., electronically actuated blinds,
gratings, and/or apertures)
or some other optical and/or light-emitted elements or combination(s) thereof
The light emitters
151g, 152g could be configured to emit illumination having one or more
specified properties
(e.g., a wavelength, a spectral profile, a degree and/or direction of
polarization). Such specified
properties of the light emitted by the light emitters 151g, 152g could be
specified such that the
light emitted by the light emitters 151g, 152g is preferentially reflected,
refracted, or otherwise
scattered by the target (e.g., by blood in a portion of subsurface
vasculature) relative to other
elements in the environment of the target (e.g., skin, connective tissue). The
light emitters 151g,
152g could be configured to illuminate specified region(s) of the environment
of the wearable
device 100g (e.g., regions proximate to respective emitters of the light
emitters 151g, 152g).
Such illuminated regions could be disjoint or otherwise distinct or could be
wholly or partially
overlapping.
[0077] The photodetector 130g could include one or more light sensitive
elements (e.g.,
light sensors, IR sensors, UV sensors, photodiodes, phototransistors,
photoresistors). The
photodetector 130g could additionally include one or more light emitters, IR
emitters,
electromagnetic energy emitters, heaters, vibrators, acoustical energy
emitters, force transducers,
or some other energy emitters. In addition to detecting alignment of the
target 107g in
conjunction with the light emitters 151g, 152g, the photodetector 130g could
be configured to
detect one or more properties (e.g., an oxygen saturation, an analyte premise
or concentration)
of the target 107g. Such detection could be related to illumination of the
target 107g by the light
emitters 151g, 152g and/or by emission of energy (e.g., IR, UV, or visible
light, heat,
electromagnetic radiation, acoustic energy) by an energy emitter of the
photodetector 130g.
[0078] Additionally or alternatively, the photodetector 130g could be
configured to
interact with and/or detect one or more properties of specific elements or
components of the
body of the wearer (e.g., the target 107g). In some examples, the
photodetector 130g and/or light
23
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
emitters 152g, 152g could act to illuminate or otherwise direct energy toward
elements in the
body of the wearer (e.g., the target 107g) and could detect a light or other
energy emitted by,
reflected by, scattered by, or otherwise received from the elements in
response to the illumination
and/or direction of energy toward the elements. For example, one or both of
the light emitters
151g, 152g and/or a light emitter of the photodetector 130g could be
configured to illuminate a
fluorophore, chromophore, or other optic chemical, moiety, analyte, or other
element of the body
of the wearer and the photodetector 130g could detect light emitted,
scattered, reflected, or
otherwise received from the element of the body of the wearer in response to
the illumination.
One or more properties of the illumination and/or of the detected light could
be used to
determine one or more properties of the body of the wearer. For example, an
intensity of light
received by the photodetector 130g when the first light emitter 151g is
emitting light could be
used to determine whether the target 107g (a portion of subsurface
vasculature) is in a specified
direction (i.e., a direction of light emitted by the first light emitter
151g).
[0079] As
illustrated in Figure 16, the target 107g is located beneath the housing 110g,
at
a location beneath the photodetector 130g. In some embodiments, the
photodetector 130g and
first 151g and second 152g light emitters could be configured to determine the
location of the
target 107g relative to the light emitters 151g, 152g, the housing 110g, the
photodetector 130g, or
some other element(s) of the wearable device 100g. That is, detecting
alignment of the target
107g could include operating the light emitters 151g, 152g and photodetector
130g to detect the
location, orientation, or some other information about the disposition of the
target 107g. Thus,
the light emitters 151g, 152g and photodetector 130g could be operated as
described above to
detect the location, orientation, or some other information about the target
107g and a
determination that the target 107g is aligned could be made based on such
detected information.
Additionally or alternatively, the light emitters 151g, 152g and photodetector
130g could be
configured to detect some categorical and/or qualitative information about the
alignment of the
target 107g. For example, the light emitters 151g, 152g and photodetector 130g
could be
configured to detect that the alignment of the target 107g corresponds to one
of a discrete set of
states, e.g., 'aligned,' nearly aligned,' not aligned,' not aligned in a
direction toward the first
light emitter 151g,' 'not aligned in a direction toward the second light
emitter 152g,' etc. In
some examples, the light emitters 151g, 152g and photodetector 130g could
determine that the
target 107g is aligned based on a property detected by the photodetector 130g
during periods of
24
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
operation of the light emitters 151g, 152g (e.g., a reflected light intensity)
being substantially
equal.
[0080] Note that the photodetector 130g could include an energy emitter
configured to
emit some energy (e.g., light, infrared, ultraviolet, acoustic, ultrasonic,
electromagnetic, thermal,
etc.). The energy could be emitted to enable detection of some property of the
wearer and/or a
target (e.g., 107g) by active detection (i.e., illuminating or otherwise
exposing the target to
energy such that a change in the target (e.g., a fluorescence, a temperature
change, a scattering of
energy) related to the property can be detected). Alignment of a target with
the photodetector
130g could include alignment of the target with the energy emitter of the
photodetector 130g.
The photodetector 130g could include other elements, including but not limited
to magnets,
filters, polarizers, magnetic shimming and/or shielding materials, and
diffraction gratings.
[0081] Additionally or alternatively, the photodetector 130g illustrated in
Figure IF could
include some other element, component, or device. In some examples, the
wearable device 100f
could include an energy emitter configured to emit some energy (e.g., visible
light, infrared light,
ultraviolet light, heat, acoustical pulses) in order to effect some change in
the body of the wearer
and/or components thereof (e.g., to denature, destroy, or otherwise alter some
analyte in the
subsurface vasculature of the wearer that has a negative health effect on the
wearer, e.g., a cancer
cell). In some examples, the wearable device 100f could include a high-
strength magnet
configured to attract magnetic particles in a lumen of subsurface vasculature
proximate to the
high-strength magnet, and the photodetector 130g and light emitters 151g, 152g
or some other
sensor(s) of the wearable device 100g could be configured to detect alignment
of the subsurface
vasculature (i.e., the target) with the high-strength magnet such that
magnetic fields emitted by
the high-strength magnet can act to attract, collect, or otherwise exert
magnetic forces on the
magnetic particles. Other configurations, operations, and applications of
wearable devices, and
alignments with component(s) of such wearable devices to enable or otherwise
affect such
operations and/or applications, are anticipated.
[0082] A wearable device could include a plurality of light emitters and/or
sensors
configured in a variety of ways to enable detection of alignment of a target
relative to the
plurality of light emitters, sensors, and/or other component(s) of the
wearable device. Figure 1H
illustrates such a wearable device 100h. Figure 1H is a partial cross-
sectional view through a
human wrist 105h illustrating an example wearable device 100h when mounted to
the human
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
wrist 105h. The wearable device 100h could be configured similarly to the
wearable devices
100a, 100b, 100c, 100d, 100e, 100f, 100g of Figures 1A, 1B, 1C, ID, 1E, 1F,
and 1G, and
includes a housing 110h (e.g., a water-resistant and/or water-proof housing)
configured to
contain electronic components and to be mounted to an external body surface of
a wearer by a
mount 120h. The mount 120h can be a band configured to enclose the wrist 105h
and to position
a plurality of sensors 130h, 140h, 145h and light emitters 151h, 152h, 153h,
154h, 155h, 156h in
the housing 110h proximate to a target 107h (i.e., a portion of subsurface
vasculature) in the
wrist 105h.
[0083] As
illustrated in Figure 1H, the target 107h is located beneath the housing 110e,
at
a location proximate to the sensors 130h, 140h, 145h and light emitters 151h,
152h, 153h, 154h,
155h, 156h. In some embodiments, the sensors 130h, 140h, 145h and light
emitters 151h, 152h,
153h, 154h, 155h, 156h could be configured to determine the location of the
target 107h relative
to the sensors 130h, 140h, 145h and light emitters 151h, 152h, 153h, 154h,
155h, 156h, the
housing 110h, or some other element(s) of the wearable device 100h. That is,
detecting
alignment of the target 107h could include operating the sensors 130h, 140h,
145h and light
emitters 151h, 152h, 153h, 154h, 155h, 156h to detect the location,
orientation, or some other
information about the disposition of the target 107h. In some embodiments, the
illustrated
location of the target 107h relative to the sensors 130h, 140h, 145h and light
emitters 151h, 152h,
153h, 154h, 155h, 156h, housing 110h, and/or other components of the wearable
device 100h
could be one of one or more specified locations, such that the target 107h is
aligned relative to
element(s) of the wearable device 100h. Thus, the sensors 130h, 140h, 145h and
light emitters
151h, 152h, 153h, 154h, 155h, 156h could be operated as described above to
detect the location,
orientation, or some other information about the target 107h and a
determination that the target
107h is aligned could be made based on such detected information. Additionally
or alternatively,
the sensors 130h, 140h, 145h and light emitters 151h, 152h, 153h, 154h, 155h,
156h could be
configured to detect some categorical and/or qualitative information about the
alignment of the
target 107h. For example, the sensors 130h, 140h, 145h and light emitters
151h, 152h, 153h,
154h, 155h, 156h could be configured to detect that the alignment of the
target 107h corresponds
to one of a discrete set of states, e.g., 'aligned,' nearly aligned,' not
aligned,' aligned with a
first sensor 130h,"aligned with a second sensor 140h,"aligned with a second
light emitter
152h,"aligned with a fourth light emitter 154h,"not aligned between a first
set of two sensors
26
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
130h, 140h,"not aligned between a first pair of light emitters 152h, 153h,"not
aligned between
a second pair of light emitters 153h, 154h.' etc. That is, in some examples
the disposition of the
target 107h relative to component(s) of the wearable device 100h could be such
that the target
107h is not aligned.
[0084] Note that the sets of sensors 130g, 130h, 140h, 145h and light
emitters 151g, 512g,
151h, 152h, 153h, 154h, 155h, 156hof the illustrated wearable devices 100g,
100h are disposed
as linear arrays. This could be advantageous in certain applications. For
example, applications
wherein alignment of a wearable device and/or components thereof is more
sensitive to motion
of the wearable device in one direction relative to the target than in a
perpendicular direction
(e.g., when the target is a long object, e.g., a portion of subsurface
vasculature). Other
applications wherein a linear arrays of sensors and/or light emitters could be
advantageous
include applications wherein adjustment of and/or motion between the target
and the wearable
device is largely constrained to a single direction/degree of freedom (e.g.,
when the wearable
device is mounted to a protruding element of a wearer's anatomy (e.g., a
wrist, and ankle, a
limb)). However, many applications are anticipated wherein an array of two or
more alignment-
or other property-sensing sensors and/or light emitters are arranged in 2-
dimensional patterns
(e.g., rectangular, hexagonal, triangular, or other regularly or irregularly
spaced grids,
tessellations, or other patterns). Such 2-dimensional arrays of sensors could
be further
configured and/or operated to detect information about a target and/or about a
wearer in addition
to information about alignment of the target. For example, a 2-dimensional
array of sensors
and/or light emitters could be operated to detect a pattern, size, or other
information about
subsurface vasculature, nerves, or other anatomical or physiological elements
of a wearer.
[0085] Further, individual sensors and/or light emitters in an array of
sensors and/or light
emitters could be discrete sensors (e.g., sensors composed of individual
discrete photodetectors,
photodiodes, LEDs, thermistors, micro-cameras, or other discrete components
and/or sensors) or
light emitters (e.g., light emitters composed of individual discrete LEDS,
semiconductor lasers,
VCSELs) or could be part of a single chip, multi-chip module, lithographed
element, or other
composite element or device. Further, an array of sensors and/or light
emitters could include a
combination of discrete sensor and/or light emitter components and multi-
sensor and/or multi-
light-emitter integrated components. For example, an array of sensors and/or
light emitters could
include a single-chip array of VCSELs, a linear or planar CCD array, an array
of PZT or other
27
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
acoustic and/or piezoelectric transducers, or some other element that includes
multiple sensors
and/or light emitters. The sensors and/or light emitters in an array of
sensors and/or light
emitters could be substantially identical, or could include two or more types
of sensors and/or
light emitters. Some or all of the sensors and/or light emitters in an array
of sensors and/or light
emitters could be configured and/or operated to detect alignment of a target;
further, some or all
of the sensors and/or light emitters could be configured and/or operated to
detect other
information about a wearer and/or a target on or within the wearer.
[0086] A wearable device (e.g., 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d, 100e, 100f, 100g,
100h) could
be operated based on a detected alignment of a target (e.g., a portion of
subsurface vasculature).
For example, one or more sensors and/or light emitters of the wearable device
could be operated
to detect a property of the target when the alignment of the target is
detected. The one or more
sensors could be sensors additionally used to detect the alignment of the
target or could be
different sensors. In some examples, the sensors and/or light emitters could
be operated
'opportunistically,' i.e., operated during time periods during which movements
of the target, the
wearer, the wearable device, and/or components of the wearable device result
in alignment of the
target and/or other elements of interest on or within the body of the wearer
with one or more
sensors or other elements of the wearable device. In some examples,
accelerometers, optic flow =
sensors, or other devices of the wearable device could be operated to allow
the location and/or
other information about the disposition of the target to be predicted based on
a detected
alignment of the target detected during a previous time period. This predicted
location and/or
other information could be used to predict that the target is aligned or about
to be aligned and to
operate the wearable device (e.g., to detect a property of the target) based
on the predicted
alignment. This could be particularly advantageous in applications where a
sensor has a high
energy requirement and/or requires a period of time to become active and/or to
make a
measurement. That is, such a sensor could be maintained in a disabled and/or
low-power state
until the wearable device predicts that the target will be and/or is currently
aligned (based on a
predicted future/current alignment and/or a detected alignment using sensors
and/or light
emitters of the wearable device); the sensor could then be activated and/or
operated to make a
measurement.
[0087] Additionally or alternatively, a wearable device could be configured
and/or
operated to align one or more components and/or to indicate an alignment to a
user such that the
28
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
target is aligned with one or more components of the wearable device. This
could include the
wearable device including servos or other actuators configured to control a
location of one or
more components of the wearable device relative to the target (e.g., the
example wearable device
200 illustrated in Figures 2A and 2B). Additionally or alternatively, this
could include the
wearable device indicating to a wearer an adjustment of the location of the
wearable device
and/or of some subcomponent of the wearable device to align one or more
components of the
wearable device relative to the target (e.g., the example wearable device 300
illustrated in
Figures 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D).
[0088] Figures 2A and 2B are partial cross-sectional views through a human
wrist 205
illustrating an example wearable device 200 when mounted to the human wrist
205. The
wearable device 200 includes a housing 210 (e.g., a water-resistant and/or
water-proof housing)
configured to contain electronic components and to be mounted to an external
body surface of a
wearer by a mount 220. The mount 220 can be a band configured to enclose the
wrist 205 and to
position first 230 and second 240 sensors in the housing 210 proximate to a
target 207 (i.e., a
portion of subsurface vasculature) in the wrist 205. The first 230 and second
240 sensors are
disposed in a sensor carriage 260 that is disposed within the housing 210 and
that can be moved
(e.g., by a servo, piezoelectric element, solenoid, or some other electrical
and/or mechanical
actuator) to control the location of the first 230 and second 240 sensors. The
wearable device
200 includes additional elements that are not shown, e.g., electronics
configured to operate the
first 230 and second 240 sensors, to operate actuators to control to location
of the sensor carriage
260, and to enable applications and/or functions of the wearable device 200, a
rechargeable
battery configured to power the wearable device 200, or other components.
Components of the
wearable device 200 could be disposed on or within the housing 210, the mount
220, or some
other elements of the wearable device 200 (not shown); e.g., a second housing.
[0089] As illustrated in Figure 2A, the target 207 is located beneath the
housing 210, at a
location between the first 230 and second 240 sensors. In some embodiments,
the first 230 and
second 230 sensors could be configured to determine the location of the target
207 relative to the
sensors 230, 240, the sensor carriage 260, the housing 210, or some other
element(s) of the
wearable device 200. That is, detecting alignment of the target 207 could
include operating the
sensors 230, 240, to detect the location, orientation, or some other
information about the
disposition of the target 207. As illustrated in Figure 2B, the location of
the sensor carriage 260
29
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
has been controlled (e.g., by the wearable device operating a servo, motor,
piezoelectric element,
or other actuator) such that the sensor 230, 240 are aligned (i.e.,
equidistant from) the target 207.
[0090] Controlling the location of the scnsor carriage 260 (and thus of the
sensors 230,
240) could be performed continuously, at one or more specified periods of
time, or according to
some other consideration or combination of considerations. For example, a
measurement of a
property of the target 207 and/or of the wearer could be contingent upon
alignment of the sensor
230, 240 with the target 207 and could be performed at one or more specified
points in time. The
sensor carriage 260 could be located to align with the target 207 during the
one or more specified
points in time and allowed to become un-aligned (e.g., by controlled or
uncontrolled motions of
the target 207, the wearer, the wearable device 200, the sensor carriage 260,
or some other
element or elements) at times other than the one or more specified points in
time. Additionally
or alternatively, the sensors 230, 240 could be continuously and/or
periodically operated to detect
the alignment of the target 207 and the location of the sensor carriage 260
could be responsively
operated. In some examples, this could include continuously controlling the
location of the
sensor carriage 260 to align the target 207 with the sensors 230, 240 and/or
other components of
the wearable device 200. In some examples, this could include controlling the
location of the
sensor carriage 260 to align the target 207 with the sensors 230, 240 and/or
other components of
the wearable device 200 when the detected alignment has decreased below some
threshold (e.g.,
the detected alignment is more that 5mm away from a specified alignment).
Other operations of
the wearable devices as describe herein will be evident to one of skill in the
art. Further,
alignment of the target 207 could include aligning the target 207 with
different elements of the
wearable device 200 at different points in time, and the controlled location
of the sensor carriage
260 at different points in time could reflect this. Note that the sensor
carriage 260 could
alternatively include two or more light emitters and one or more
photodetectors configured to
determine the location of the target 207 relative to the two or more light
emitters, the one or more
photodetectors, the sensor carriage 260, the housing 210, or some other
element(s) of the
wearable device 200.
[0091] A wearer or other user of a wearable device (e.g., 100a, 100b, 100c,
100d, 100e,
100f, 100g, 100h, 200) could operate, dispose, adjust, or otherwise locate the
wearable device
and/or components thereof to align one or more components (e.g., a sensor, a
light emitter) of the
wearable device with a target or other component on or within the body of the
wearer. The
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
wearable device could operate two or more sensors (e.g., photodetectors,
thermistors, or some
other sensors) and/or two or more light emitters and one or more
photodetectors to detect
alignment of the target and could indicate (e.g., by a display, an emitted
sound, a vibration, or
some other indicating means) the detected alignment to the wearer or to some
other user such
that the wearer or other user could adjust the location of the one or more
components of the
wearable device with the target
[0092] Figures 3A and 3C are partial cross-sectional views through a human
wrist 305
illustrating an example wearable device 300 when mounted to the human wrist
305. The
wearable device 300 includes a housing 310 (e.g., a water-resistant and/or
water-proof housing)
configured to contain electronic components and to be mounted to an external
body surface of a
wearer by a mount 320. The mount 320 can be a band configured to enclose the
wrist 305 and to
position first 330 and second 340 sensors in the housing 210 proximate to a
target 307 (i.e., a
portion of subsurface vasculature) in the wrist 305. The wearable device 300
additionally
includes a display 360 (illustrated in top views in Figure 3B and 3D)
configured to present
information to a user and/or to receive inputs or commands from the user. The
wearable device
300 includes additional elements that are not shown, e.g., electronics
configured to operate the
first 330 and second 340 sensors, to operate the display 350, and to enable
applications and/or
functions of the wearable device 300, a rechargeable battery configured to
power the wearable
device 300, or other components. Components of the wearable device 300 could
be disposed on
or within the housing 310, the mount 320, or some other elements of the
wearable device 300
(not shown); e.g., a second housing.
[0093] As illustrated in Figure 3A, the target 307 is located beneath the
housing 310, at a
location between the first 330 and second 340 sensors. In some embodiments,
the first 330 and
second 330 sensors could be configured to determine the location of the target
307 relative to the
sensors 330, 340, the housing 310, or some other element(s) of the wearable
device 300. That is,
detecting alignment of the target 307 could include operating the sensors 330,
340, to detect the
location, orientation, or some other information about the disposition of the
target 307.
Correspondingly, the display 360 (as shown in Figure 3B) could be operated to
present a relative
alignment display 370a indicating that the target 307 is not aligned, and that
the wearer could
adjust the wearable device 300 in the indicated direction in order to align
the wearable device
300 with the target 307. Additionally or alternatively, the display 360 could
be operated to
31
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
present an absolute alignment display 380a including an alignment indicator
384a having a
distance and direction from an alignment mark 382a indicating a degree and
direction to which
the target 307 is not aligned, and that the wearer could adjust the wearable
device 300 in the
indicated direction by the indicated amount in order to align the wearable
device 300 with the
target 307.
[0094] As illustrated in Figure 3C, the target 307 is located beneath the
housing 310, at a
location midway between the first 330 and second 340 sensors such that the
target 307 is aligned
with the wearable device 300. Correspondingly, the display 360 (as shown in
Figure 3D) could
be operated to present a relative alignment display 370a indicating that the
target 307 is aligned.
Additionally or alternatively, the display 360 could be operated to present an
absolute alignment
display 380b including an alignment indicator 384b whose substantially overlap
with an
alignment mark 382b indicates that the target 307 is aligned.
[0095] Indicating alignment (e.g., presenting the relative 370a/b and/or
absolute 380a/b
alignment display and/or using some other method of indication) could be
performed
continuously, at one or more specified periods of time, or according to some
other consideration
or combination of considerations. For example, a measurement of a property of
the target 307
and/or of the wearer could be contingent upon alignment of the sensors 330,
340 with the target
307 and could be performed at one or more specified points in time. The
display 360 or other
components of the wearable device 300 could be operated to indicate the
alignment and/or to
instruct the wearer to perfonn an adjustment of the location of the wearable
device 300 during
the one or more specified points in time and allowed to become un-aligned
(e.g., by controlled or
uncontrolled motions of the target 307, the wearer, the wearable device 300,
or some other
element or elements) at times other than the one or more specified points in
time. Additionally
or alternatively, the sensors 330, 340 could be continuously and/or
periodically operated to detect
the alignment of the target 307 and the display 360 could be responsively
operated to indicate an
adjustment and/or alignment. In some examples, this could include continuously
presenting the
relative 370a/b and/or absolute 380a/b alignment display and/or indicating an
adjustment or
alignment by some other means. In some examples, this could include presenting
the relative
370a/b and/or absolute 380a/b alignment display and/or indicating an
adjustment or alignment by
some other means when the detected alignment has decreased below some
threshold (e.g., the
detected alignment is more that 5mm away from a specified alignment). Other
operations of the
32
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
wearable devices as describe herein will be evident to one of skill in the
art. Further, alignment
of the target 307 could include aligning the target 307 with different
elements of the wearable
device 300 at different points in time, and the indication of alignment
(using, e.g., the display
360) could reflect this.
[0096] Note that the indications shown in Figures 3B and 3D are exemplary,
and not
intended to be limiting. A wearable device could present different or
additional indications on a
display related to the alignment of a target. A display of a wearable device
could additionally be
operated to present additional or alternate information to a wearer. Further,
a display of a
wearable device could have a different shape or include additional or
alternative elements. For
example, an array of LEDs or other light emitters could be included in a
wearable device and
could be operated to indicate information about alignment of a target relative
to one or more
components of the wearable device such that a wearer could adjust the wearable
device to align
the target. Alternate methods could be employed to indicate alignment
information to a wearer,
including vibration (e.g., using a vibrator motor in the wearable device),
sound (e.g., using
speakers and/or piezo elements of the wearable device), or some other method.
In some
examples, the wearable device could include a wireless transceiver or some
other means of
communication configured to transmit alignment information to another device
(e.g., a
smartphone, a robotic actuator) and the other device could indicate the
alignment information
(e.g., using a display of the other device) and/or adjust the location of
components of the
wearable device (e.g., by manipulating the wearable device and/or components
thereof using a
robotic actuator).
[0097] Note that figures 3A and 3C illustrate adjustment of the wearable
device 300
taking the faun of rotation of the entire wearable device 300 about the wrist
305. This is a non-
limiting example of an adjustment of a wearable device and/or components
thereof that could be
effected by a wearer or other user in response to indication of an adjustment
and/or alignment.
In some examples, adjustment by the wearer could include repositioning a
wearable device in
some other way (e.g., by moving the device up or down the limb of the wearer).
In some
examples, adjustment by the wearer could include manipulating and/or
reconfiguring some
mechanism(s) of the wearable device to align one or more components of the
wearable device
with the target according to some indication of the wearable device. In some
examples, the
wearable device could indicate other adjustments and/or reconfigurations to be
performed by the
33
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
wearer (e.g., application and/or rotation of a filter, reconfiguring the
wearable device into a
different mechanical or other configuration related to a different operational
mode of the
wearable device).
[0098] Note that the wearable device 300 could additionally or
alternatively include two
or more light emitters and one or more photo detectors configured to detelmine
the location of the
target 307 relative to the two or more light emitters, the one or more
photodetectors, the housing
310, or some other element(s) of the wearable device 300.
[0099] Note that the alignment of the targets (e.g., 207, 307), as well as
the control and/or
adjustment of the location of one or more sensors or other components (e.g.,
230, 240, 331, 332,
333, 334, 335, 336, 350), as illustrated in Figures 2A, 2B, 3A and 3C, is one-
dimensional. That
is, the location of the sensors and other components of the illustrated
example wearable device
(e.g., 200, 300) is only illustrated as being controlled in one direction. It
is anticipated that
control of the location of sensors, light emitters, or other components of a
wearable device to
align such sensors or other components could be controlled in two or more
dimensions,
according to an application. In some examples, this could include a wearable
device being
configured to control the location of sensors, light emitters, or other
components (e.g., using
servos or other actuators) in two or more dimensions. In some examples, this
could include a
wearable device indicating to a wearer or other user to adjust the location of
the wearable device
and/or one or more components thereof in two or more dimensions (e.g., the
wearable device
could be mounted around a wrist of the wearer, and the wearable device could
indicate a rotation
of the wearable device about the wrist and a displacement of the wearable
device toward or away
from the end of the limb). In some examples, a wearable device could be
configured to control
the location of (e.g., by operating a servo or other actuator) one or more
components of the
wearable device (e.g., a sensor, a light emitter) and to indicate to a wearer
or other user some
adjustment of the wearable device or components thereof to effect alignment of
a target with the
wearable device.
[00100] Note that example devices herein are configured to be mounted to
and to align
with targets within a wrist of a wearer. However, the embodiments described
herein could be
applied to other body parts (e.g., an ankle, a thigh, a chest, a forehead, a
thigh, a finger), or to
detect alignment of targets in other environments. For example, embodiments
described herein
could be applied to detect the alignment of a target (e.g., a fluid conduit, a
tube, a sample
34
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
container, an analyte-attracting and/or concentrating device) in an
environment (e.g., a natural
environment, an environment of an industrial, pharmaceutical, or water
treatment process)
relative to some apparatus using two or more sensors of the apparatus.
[00101] Sensors and/or detectors as described herein could include a wide
variety of
components configured to detect properties of a wide variety of physical
parameters. Sensors
and/or detectors could include photodetectors, temperature sensors, visible
light sensors, infrared
sensors, ultraviolet sensors, cameras, force transducers, acoustical
transducers, piezo elements,
electromagnetic field sensors, radiation sensors, electrical current and/or
voltage sensors,
magnetic field sensors, electric field sensors, or any other sensors or
combinations of sensors that
could be configured to detect some information about the alignment of a target
relative to the
sensors and/or to one or more components of a device comprising the sensors.
Photodetectors
could be configured to detect one or more properties of light received from a
target and/or an
environment containing the target and could include photodiodes,
phototransistors, active pixel
sensors, CCD sensors, or some other light-sensitive elements. Photodetectors
could be
configured to detect a color, an intensity, a wavelength, a spectrum, a
polarization, or some other
property or properties of received light.
[00102] Sensors and/or detectors as described herein could additionally
include and/or be
configured to operate in concert with energy emitters. Energy emitters could
include light
emitters, infrared emitters, ultraviolet emitters, acoustical and/or
ultrasonic emitters,
electromagnetic field emitters, microwave emitters, heaters, or some other
components
configured to emit and/or direct energy toward a target and/or an environment
containing a target.
Light emitters could include LEDs, lasers, VCSELs, or other elements and could
be configured
to emit light having one or more specified properties. For example, the target
could be
subsurface vasculature beneath skin of a wearer, and the emitted light could
have a specified
wavelength (e.g., 400 nanometers) such that the emitted light minimally
interacts with tissue of
the wearer other than blood in the subsurface vasculature.
[00103] The sensors and/or detectors could be operated to detect one or
more of a variety
of properties of a wearer of the wearable device via an external body surface
of the wearer e.g.,
by contacting, directing energy (e.g., electrical, magnetic, illumination,
acoustic waves)
through/into, detecting energy (e.g., electrical, magnetic, illumination,
acoustic waves) received
from/through, or otherwise interacting with and/or through an external body
surface of the
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
wearer (i.e., skin of the wearer's wrist). For example, light could be emitted
toward an external
body surface of a wearer to illuminate the external body surface, and one or
more properties of
light received from the external body surface could be detected (e.g., using
the photodiode). This
illumination and detection could be used to detect an oxygenation state of
blood proximate to the
wearable device (e.g., in a portion of subsurface vasculature), a heart rate
of the wearer, a flow
profile of the blood in vasculature of the wearer, or some other information.
The sensors could
be configured to detect one or more properties of a contrast agent (e.g., a
functionalized
fluorophore, chromophore, magnetic particle, or some other natural or
artificial contrast agent) in
the body of the wearer according to an application.
[00104] In some examples, sensors of a device could be configured to detect
alignment of
a target by detecting the location, orientation, alignment, and/or other
information about the
disposition of an alignment feature. An alignment feature could be any
clement(s) within or on
the surface of the body of a wearer that has a predictable and/or stable
spatial relationship with a
target. For example, an alignment feature could be a tendon, nerve, or other
anatomical feature
that is proximate to a portion of subsurface vasculature (i.e., a target). The
alignment feature
could have a known and/or specified spatial relationship with the target
and/or the spatial
relationship between the alignment feature and the target could be determined
by a wearable
device using sensors of the wearable device. Note that references herein to a
wearable or other
device detecting alignment of a target could equally apply to the wearable or
other device
detecting the location, orientation, alignment and/or other information about
the disposition of an
alignment feature.
1001051 The alignment feature could be artificial. The alignment feature
could be a
pigment applied to the surface and/or within the skin of a wearer. For
example, the alignment
feature could be a tattoo. The alignment feature could be an implanted device
or object(s). One
or more properties of the alignment feature could enable detection of the
location, orientation,
alignment, or other disposition information about the alignment feature. For
example, the
alignment feature could include fluorescent pigments or coatings and/or
pigments or surface
treatments having a specified color. The alignment feature could have a
specified shape or
geometry to enable detection of the alignment feature and/or detect a location
on or within the
alignment feature. For example, the alignment feature could be a tattoo
applied around the wrist
of a wearer and including a series of gray-coded or otherwise spatially-
encoded bars or other
36
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
features such that a device mounted to the wrist could determine the alignment
of the device
relative to elements of the wrist (e.g., bones, blood vessels, tendons,
nerves) based on the
patterns of the tattoo detected by the device. The alignment feature could be
applied and/or
inserted in the body of a wearer such that is has a specified spatial
relationship with a target
and/or the spatial relationship between a target and the alignment feature
could be determined
after application and/or insertion. Other embodiments and/or applications of
natural (e.g.,
anatomical) and artificial alignment features are anticipated.
[00106] Wearable devices and other embodiments as described herein can
include a
variety of components configured in a variety of ways. Devices described
herein could include
electronics including a variety of different components configured in a
variety of ways to enable
applications of the wearable device. The electronics could include
controllers, amplifiers,
switches, display drivers, touch sensors, wireless communications chipsets
(e.g., Bluetooth
radios or other radio transceivers and associated baseband circuitry to enable
wireless
communications between the wearable device and some other system(s)), or other
components.
The electronics could include a controller configured to operate one or more
sensors and/or
components of sensors to detect alignment of a target and/or one or more
properties of the body
of the wearer. The controller could include a processor configured to execute
computer-readable
instructions (e.g., program instructions stored in data storage of the
wearable device) to enable
applications of the wearable device. The electronics can include additional or
alternative
components according to an application of the wearable device.
[00107] Wearable devices as described herein could include one or more user
interfaces.
A user interface could include a display configured to present an image to a
wearer and to detect
one or more finger presses of a wearer on the interface. The controller or
some other
component(s) of the electronics could operate the user interface to provide
information to a
wearer or other user of the device and to enable the wearer or other user to
affect the operation of
the wearable device, to determine some property of the wearable device and/or
of the wearer of
the wearable device (e.g., an alignment of a target relative to one or more
components of the
wearable device), or to provide some other functionality or application to the
wearer and/or user.
As one example, the user interface could be operated to indicate information
about the alignment
of a target to the wearer. As another example, the wearer could press an
indicated region of the
user interface to indicate that the wearable device should begin logging
detected medical
37
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
information about the wearer. Other indicated information, changes in
operation of the wearable
device, or other functions and applications of the user interface are
anticipated.
[001081 Note that the embodiments illustrated in Figures 1A-H, 2A-B, and 3A-
D arc
illustrative examples and not meant to be limiting. Alternative embodiments,
including more or
fewer components in alternative configurations are anticipated. A wearable
device could include
multiple housings or other such assemblies each containing some set of
components to enable
applications of such a wearable device. For example, a wearable device could
include a first
housing within which are disposed sensors and/or light emitters configured to
detect the
alignment of a target relative to the first housing/ sensors and/or light
emitters and a second
housing containing a user interface and electronics configured to operate the
sensors and/or light
emitters and to present information to and receive commands from a user of the
wearable device.
A wearable device could be configured to perform a variety of functions and to
enable a variety
of applications. Wearable devices could be configured to operate in concert
with other devices or
systems; for example, wearable devices could include a wireless communication
interface
configured to transmit data indicative of one or more properties of the body
of a wearer of the
wearable device. Other embodiments, operations, configurations, and
applications of a wearable
device as described herein are anticipated.
[00109] A wearable device 400 (illustrated in Figure 4) can automatically
detect alignment
of a target relative to the wearable device 400 and/or measure a plurality of
physiological
parameters of a person wearing the device. The term "wearable device," as used
in this
disclosure, refers to any device that is capable of being worn at, on or in
proximity to a body
surface, such as a wrist, ankle, waist, chest, or other body part. In order to
take in vivo
measurements in a non-invasive manner from outside of the body, the wearable
device may be
positioned on a portion of the body where subsurface vasculature or other
targets or elements of
the body of the wearer are easily observable, the qualification of which will
depend on the type
of detection system used. The device may be placed in close proximity to the
skin or tissue. A
mount 410, such as a belt, wristband, ankle band, etc. can be provided to
mount the device at, on
or in proximity to the body surface. The mount 410 may prevent the wearable
device from
moving relative to the body to reduce measurement error and noise. In one
example, shown in
Figure 4, the mount 410, may take the form of a strap or band 420 that can be
worn around a part
38
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
of the body. Further, the mount 410 may be an adhesive substrate for adhering
the wearable
device 400 to the body of a wearer.
[00110] A housing 430 is disposed on the mount 410 such that it can be
positioned on the
body. A contact surface 440 of the housing 430 is intended to be mounted
facing to the external
body surface. The housing 430 may include sensors 451, 452, 453, 454, 455, 456
for detecting
the alignment of a target (e.g., a portion of subsurface vasculature) relative
to the sensors 451,
452, 453, 454, 455, 456 and/or some other element(s) of the wearable device
400. The housing
430 may further include at least one further sensor 460 for detecting at least
one property of the
target and/or some other element on or within the body of the wearer, which
could include any
parameters that may relate to the health of the person wearing the wearable
device. For example,
the further sensor 480 could be configured to measure blood pressure, pulse
rate, respiration rate,
skin temperature, etc. In a non-exhaustive list, the sensors 451, 452, 453,
454, 455, 456 and
further sensor 480 may include any one or more of an optical (e.g., CMOS, CCD,
photodiode),
acoustic (e.g., piezoelectric, piezoceramic), electrochemical (voltage,
impedance), thermal,
mechanical (e.g., pressure, strain), magnetic, or electromagnetic (e.g.,
magnetic resonance)
sensor. Components disposed in the housing 430 may be miniaturized so that the
wearable
device may be worn on the body without significantly interfering with the
wearer's usual
activities. The wearable device additionally includes electronics configured
to enable functions
of the wearable device 400 including operating the sensors 451, 452, 453, 454,
455, 456 to detect
alignment with a target on or within the body of a wearer. Alternatively, the
illustrated 451, 452,
453, 454, 455, 456 could be light emitters and the illustrated 460 could be a
photodetector
configured detect the alignment of the target relative to the light emitters
451, 452, 453, 454, 455,
456, photodetector 460, and/or other elements of the wearable device 400.
[00111] The wearable device 400 may also include a user interface 490 via
which the
wearer of the device may receive one or more recommendations or alerts
generated either from a
remote server or other remote computing device, or from a processor within the
device. The
alerts could be any indication that can be noticed by the person wearing the
wearable device. For
example, the alert could include a visual component (e.g., textual or
graphical information on a
display), an auditory component (e.g., an alarm sound), and/or tactile
component (e.g., a
vibration). Further, the user interface 490 may include a display 492 where a
visual indication of
the alert or recommendation may be displayed. The display 492 may further be
configured to
39
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
provide an indication of the measured alignment and/or to indicate an
adjustment which could be
made by the wearer to align a target with the wearable device.
[00112] In some examples, the wearable device is provided as a wrist-
mounted device, as
shown in Figures 5A and 5B. The wrist-mounted device may be mounted to the
wrist of a living
subject with a wristband or cuff, similar to a watch or bracelet. As shown in
Figures 5A and 5B,
the wrist mounted device 500 may include a mount 510 in the form of a
wristband 520, a
housing 530 containing a data collection system and positioned on the anterior
side 540 of the
wearer's wrist, and a user interface 550 positioned on the posterior side 560
of the wearer's wrist.
The wearer of the device may receive, via the user interface 550, one or more
recommendations
or alerts generated either from a remote server or other remote computing
device, or alerts from
the measurement platform. Such a configuration may be perceived as natural for
the wearer of
the device in that it is common for the posterior side 560 of the wrist to be
observed, such as the
act of checking a wrist-watch. Accordingly, the wearer may easily view a
display 570 on the
user interface. Further, the housing 530 may be located on the anterior side
540 of the wearer's
wrist where the subsurface vasculature or other elements of the body of the
wearer may be
readily observable. However, other configurations are contemplated.
[00113] The display 570 may be configured to display a visual indication of
the alert or
recommendation and/or an indication of the measured alignment of a target
relative to the
wearable device 500. Further, the user interface 550 may include one or more
buttons 580 for
accepting inputs from the wearer. For example, the buttons 580 may be
configured to change the
text or other information visible on the display 570. As shown in Figure 5B,
housing 530 may
also include one or more buttons 590 for accepting inputs from the wearer. The
buttons 590 may
be configured to accept inputs for controlling aspects of the data collection
system, such as
initiating a measurement period, or inputs indicating the wearer's current
health state (i.e.,
normal, migraine, shortness of breath, heart attack, fever, "flu-like"
symptoms, food poisoning,
etc.).
[00114] Figure 6 is a simplified schematic of a system including one or
more wearable
devices 600. The one or more wearable devices 600 may be configured to
transmit data via a
communication interface 610 over one or more communication networks 620 to a
remote server
630. In one embodiment, the communication interface 610 includes a wireless
transceiver for
sending and receiving communications to and from the server 630. In further
embodiments, the
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
communication interface 610 may include any means for the transfer of data,
including both
wired and wireless communications. For example, the communication interface
may include a
universal serial bus (USB) interface or a secure digital (SD) card interface.
Communication
networks 620 may be any one of may be one of: a plain old telephone service
(POTS) network, a
cellular network, a fiber network and a data network. The server 630 may
include any type of
remote computing device or remote cloud computing network. Further,
communication network
620 may include one or more intermediaries, including, for example wherein the
wearable device
600 transmits data to a mobile phone or other personal computing device, which
in turn transmits
the data to the server 630.
[00115] In addition to receiving communications from the wearable device
600, such as
collected physiological parameter data and data regarding health state as
input by the user and/or
one or more properties of a wearer detected using a sensor disposed in the
wearable device 600,
the server may also be configured to gather and/or receive either from the
wearable device 600 or
from some other source, information regarding a wearer's overall medical
history, environmental
factors and geographical data. For example, a user account may be established
on the server for
every wearer that contains the wearer's medical history. Moreover, in some
examples, the server
630 may be configured to regularly receive information from sources of
environmental data,
such as viral illness or food poisoning outbreak data from the Centers for
Disease Control (CDC)
and weather, pollution and allergen data from the National Weather Service.
Further, the server
may be configured to receive data regarding a wearer's health state from a
hospital or physician.
Such information may be used in the server's decision-making process, such as
recognizing
correlations and in generating clinical protocols.
[00116] Additionally, the server may be configured to gather and/or receive
the date, time
of day and geographical location of each wearer of the device during each
measurement period.
Such information may be used to detect and monitor spatial and temporal
spreading of diseases.
As such, the wearable device may be configured to determine and/or provide an
indication of its
own location. For example, a wearable device may include a GPS system so that
it can include
GPS location information (e.g., GPS coordinates) in a communication to the
server. As another
example, a wearable device may use a technique that involves triangulation
(e.g., between base
stations in a cellular network) to determine its location. Other location-
determination techniques
are also possible.
41
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
[00117] The server may also be configured to make determinations regarding
the efficacy
of a drug or other treatment based on information regarding the drugs or other
treatments
received by a wearer of the device and, at least in part, the physiological
parameter data and the
indicated health state of the user. From this information, the server may be
configured to derive
an indication of the effectiveness of the drug or treatment. For example, if a
drug is intended to
treat nausea and the wearer of the device does not indicate that he or she is
experiencing nausea
after beginning a course of treatment with the drug, the server may be
configured to derive an
indication that the drug is effective for that wearer. In another example, a
wearable device may
be configured to measure blood glucose. If a wearer is prescribed a drug
intended to treat
diabetes, but the server receives data from the wearable device indicating
that the wearer's blood
glucose has been increasing over a certain number of measurement periods, the
server may be
configured to derive an indication that the drug is not effective for its
intended purpose for this
wearer.
[00118] Further, some embodiments of the system may include privacy
controls which
may be automatically implemented or controlled by the wearer of the device.
For example,
where a wearer's collected physiological parameter data and health state data
are uploaded to a
cloud computing network for trend analysis by a clinician, the data may be
treated in one or more
ways before it is stored or used, so that personally identifiable information
is removed. For
example, a user's identity may be treated so that no personally identifiable
information can be
determined for the user, or a user's geographic location may be generalized
where location
information is obtained (such as to a city, ZIP code, or state level), so that
a particular location of
a user cannot be determined.
[00119] Additionally or alternatively, wearers of a device may be provided
with an
opportunity to control whether or how the device collects information about
the wearer (e.g.,
information about a user's medical history, social actions or activities,
profession, a user's
preferences, or a user's current location), or to control how such information
may be used. Thus,
the wearer may have control over how information is collected about him or her
and used by a
clinician or physician or other user of the data. For example, a wearer may
elect that data, such
as health state and physiological parameters, collected from his or her device
may only be used
for generating an individual baseline and recommendations in response to
collection and
42
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
comparison of his or her own data and may not be used in generating a
population baseline or for
use in population correlation studies.
[00120] Figure 7 is a simplified block diagram illustrating the components
of a device 700,
according to an example embodiment. Device 700 may take the form of or be
similar to one of
the wearable devices 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d, 100e, 100f, 100g, 100h, 200, 300,
400, 500 shown
in Figures 1A-H, 2A-B, 3A-D, 4, and SA-B. However, device 700 may also take
other forms,
such as an ankle, waist, or chest-mounted device. Device 700 could also take
the form of a
device that is not configured to be mounted to a body. For example, device 700
could take the
form of a handheld device configured to be maintained in proximity to an
environment of
interest (e.g., a body part, a biological sample container, a volume of a
water treatment system)
by a user or operator of the device 700 or by a frame or other supporting
structure. Device 700
also could take other forms.
[00121] In particular, Figure 7 shows an example of a device 700 having a
data collection
system 710 that includes two photodetectors 712, 714 and a sensor 716, an
actuator 750, a user
interface 720, communication interface 730 for transmitting data to a remote
system, A processor
740 and a computer readable storage medium 760. The components of the device
700 may be
disposed on a mount or on some other structure for mounting the device to
enable stable
detection of one or more properties of an environment of interest (e.g., of a
body of a wearer of
the device 700) and/or detection of the alignment of a target within the
environment of interest,
for example, to an external body surface where a portion of subsurface
vasculature or other
anatomical element (i.e., a target) is readily observable.
[00122] Processor 740 may be a general-purpose processor or a special
purpose processor
(e.g., digital signal processors, application specific integrated circuits,
etc.). The one or more
processors 740 can be configured to execute computer-readable program
instructions 770 that are
stored in the computer readable medium 760 and that are executable to provide
the functionality
of a device 700 described herein.
[00123] The computer readable medium 760 may include or take the form of
one or more
non-transitory, computer-readable storage media that can be read or accessed
by at least one
processor 740. The one or more computer-readable storage media can include
volatile and/or
non-volatile storage components, such as optical, magnetic, organic or other
memory or disc
storage, which can be integrated in whole or in part with at least one of the
one or more
43
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
processors 740. In some embodiments, the computer readable medium 760 can be
implemented
using a single physical device (e.g., one optical, magnetic, organic or other
memory or disc
storage unit), while in other embodiments, the computer readable medium 760
can be
implemented using two or more physical devices.
[00124] Photodetectors 712, 714 could include any light-detecting
components configured
to detect the location, orientation, alignment, and/or some other information
about the disposition
of a target (e.g., a portion of subsurface vasculature) relative to one or
more components (e.g.,
the photodetectors 712, 714, the sensor 716) of the device 700. Sensor 716
could include one or
more components configured to detect one or more properties of an environment
proximate to
the sensor 716 (e.g., a portion of subsurface vasculature) and/or of energy or
matter received
from the proximate environment. As described above, the photodetectors 712,
714 and the
sensor 716 may include any component or components capable of detecting at
least one property,
which could include any properties that may relate to the alignment and/or
some other property
of the target and/or of the environment being analyzed by the device (e.g.,
the body of the wearer
or a subsection thereof). For example, the sensor 716 could be configured to
measure blood
pressure, pulse rate, skin temperature, etc. In some examples, the
photodetectors 712, 714 and/or
the sensor 716 may include one or more of an optical (e.g., CMOS, CCD,
photodiode), acoustic
(e.g., piezoelectric, piezoceramic), electrochemical (voltage, impedance),
thermal, mechanical
(e.g., pressure, strain), magnetic, or electromagnetic (e.g., magnetic
resonance) sensor. In
examples wherein the photodetectors 712, 714 and/or the sensor 716 include a
light sensor, the
light sensor could be a photodiode, a photomultiplier, a CCD, a photocell, a
photoresistive
element, a camera, or any other sensor or sensors configured to detect one or
more properties of
light received from the target and/or an environment containing the target.
[00125] The photodetectors 712, 714 and/or the sensor 716 could
additionally include a
light source or other energy emitter for transmitting illumination or other
energy that can
illuminate and/or penetrate the environment to illuminate, excite, or
otherwise affect one or more
elements of interest on or in the target and/or the environment containing the
target. The
wavelength of transmitted illumination could be specified to penetrate
biological tissues of a
wearer; for example, the transmitted illumination could have a wavelength
within a near-infrared
(NIR) transparency window of biological tissue. The wavelength of the
transmitted illumination
could be specified to be a wavelength that causes fluorescence and/or emission
of light by
44
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
fluorophores, chromophores, or other elements of interest. An energy emitter
of the
photodetectors 712, 714 and/or the sensor 716 could be configured to produce
other forms of
energy toward the environment proximate to photodetectors 712, 714 and/or the
sensor 716 that
could result in emission, reflection, scattering or some other generation of
light or other energy
or matter by other chemicals, imaging agents, biological elements, or other
analytes proximate to
the photodetectors 712, 714 and/or the sensor 716.
[00126] Additionally or alternatively, the data collection system 710 could
include two or
more light emitters and one or more photodetectors configured to detect the
alignment of a target
relative to the photodetector and/or light emitters as described herein. Such
a data collection
system 710 could be further configured to detect one or more properties (e.g.,
a concentration of
an analyte, an oxygen saturation) of the target and/or of the body of the
wearer.
[00127] The actuator 750 could be any electrical and/or mechanical device
configured to
control the location of the data collection system 710 and/or of individual
elements (e.g., 712,
714, 716) of the data collection system 710. The actuator 750 could include
servos, piezoelectric
elements, solenoids, motors, or other force-transducing elements.
[00128] The program instructions 770 stored on the computer readable medium
760 may
include instructions to perform any of the methods described herein. For
instance, in the
illustrated embodiment, program instructions 770 include a controller module
772, calculation
and decision module 774 and an alert module 776.
[00129] The controller module 772 can include instructions for operating
the
photodetectors 712, 714 and/or the sensor 716. For example, the controller 772
may operate a
light source and/or light sensors of the photodetectors 712, 714 and/or the
sensor 716 during each
of a set of pre-set measurement periods. The controller module 772 can further
include
instructions for operating the actuator 750 to control the location of the of
the data collection
system 710 and/or of individual elements (e.g., 712, 714, 716) of the data
collection system 710.
For example, the controller module 772 could include instructions to operate
the actuator 750 to
control the location of one or more elements of the data collection system 710
such that the one
or more elements of the data collection system 710 are aligned with a target.
This operation of
the actuator 750 could be perfoimed responsive to an alignment of the one or
more elements of
the data collection system 710 relative to the target as detected by the
photodetectors 712, 714.
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
[00130] The controller module 772 can also include instructions for
operating a user
interface 720. For example, controller module 772 may include instructions for
displaying data
collected by the data collection system 710 and analyzed by the calculation
and decision module
774, or for displaying one or more alerts generated by the alert module 776.
Controller module
772 may include instructions for displaying data related to a detected
alignment of one or more
elements of the device 700 such that a user could adjust the location and/or
configuration of the
device such that the one or more elements of the device 700 are aligned with
the target. Further,
controller module 772 may include instructions to execute certain functions
based on inputs
accepted by the user interface 720, such as inputs accepted by one or more
buttons disposed on
the user interface.
[00131] Communication platform 730 may also be operated by instructions
within the
controller module 772, such as instructions for sending and/or receiving
information via a
wireless antenna, which may be disposed on or in the device 700. The
communication interface
730 can optionally include one or more oscillators, mixers, frequency
injectors, etc. to modulate
and/or demodulate information on a carrier frequency to be transmitted and/or
received by the
antenna. In some examples, the device 700 is configured to indicate an output
from the
processor by modulating an impedance of the antenna in a manner that is
perceivable by a
remote server or other remote computing device.
[00132] Calculation and decision module 774 may include instructions for
receiving data
from the photodetectors 712, 714 and/or the sensor 716, analyzing the data to
determine one or
more properties of a target (e.g., the alignment of the target relative to one
or more components
of the device 700) and/or an environment containing the target (e.g., of a
body of a wearer of the
device 700), such as concentration of a target analyte, analyzing the data to
determine if a
medical condition or other specified condition is indicated, or other
analytical processes relating
to the environment proximate to the device 700. In particular, the calculation
and decision
module 774 may include instructions for determining, for each preset
measurement time, the
presence, concentration, and/or other properties of a clinically-relevant
analyte based on
information detected using the photodetectors 712, 714 and/or the sensor 716;
and determining
whether a medical condition is indicated based on at least the corresponding
presence,
concentration, or other property of the clinically-relevant analyte. These
instructions could be
executed at each of a set of preset measurement times.
46
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
[00133] The program instructions of the calculation and decision module 774
may, in
some examples, be stored in a computer-readable medium and executed by a
processor located
external to the device 700. For example, the device 700 could be configured to
collect certain
data regarding physiological parameters from the user and then transmit the
data to a remote
server, which may include a mobile device, a personal computer, the cloud, or
any other remote
system, for further processing.
[00134] The computer readable medium 760 may further contain other data or
information,
such as medical and health history of a user of the device 700, that may be
useful in determining
whether a medical condition or some other specified condition is indicated.
Further, the
computer readable medium 760 may contain data corresponding to certain
physiological
parameter baselines, above or below which a medical condition is indicated.
The baselines may
be pre-stored on the computer readable medium 760, may be transmitted from a
remote source,
such as a remote server, or may be generated by the calculation and decision
module 774 itself
The calculation and decision module 774 may include instructions for
generating individual
baselines for the user of the device 700 based on data collected over a
certain number of
measurement periods. Baselines may also be generated by a remote server and
transmitted to the
device 700 via communication interface 730. The calculation and decision
module 774 may also,
upon determining that a medical or other emergency condition is indicated,
generate one or more
recommendations for the user of the device 700 based, at least in part, on
consultation of a
clinical protocol. Such recommendations may alternatively be generated by the
remote server
and transmitted to the device 700.
[00135] In some examples, the collected physiological parameter data,
baseline profiles,
health state information input by device users and generated recommendations
and clinical
protocols may additionally be input to a cloud network and be made available
for download by a
user's physician. Trend and other analyses may also be performed on the
collected data, such as
physiological parameter data and health state information, in the cloud
computing network and
be made available for download by physicians or clinicians.
[00136] Further, physiological parameter and health state data from
individuals or
populations of device users may be used by physicians or clinicians in
monitoring efficacy of a
drug or other treatment. For example, high-density, real-time data may be
collected from a
population of device users who are participating in a clinical study to assess
the safety and
47
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
.
efficacy of a developmental drug or therapy. Such data may also be used on an
individual level
to assess a particular wearer's response to a drug or therapy. Based on this
data, a physician or
clinician may be able to tailor a drug treatment to suit an individual's
needs.
[00137] In
response to a determination by the calculation and decision module 774 that a
medical or other specified condition is indicated, the alert module 776 may
generate an alert via
the user interface 720. The alert may include a visual component, such as
textual or graphical
information displayed on a display, an auditory component (e.g., an alarm
sound), and/or tactile
component (e.g., a vibration).
The textual information may include one or more
recommendations, such as a recommendation that the user of the device contact
a medical
professional, seek immediate medical attention, or administer a medication.
III. Example Methods
[00138]
Figure 8 is a flowchart of a method 800 for operating a wearable device. The
operated wearable device includes (i) at least light emitter, (ii) at least
one photodetector, (iii) a
mount configured to mount the at least one light emitter and at least one
photodetector to an
external body surface proximate to a target, and (iv) a controller configured
to operate the at least
one light emitter and the at least one photodetector.
[00139]
The method 800 includes mounting the wearable device to an external body
surface using the mount (810). In some examples, the wearable device could be
configured to be
mounted to a wrist of a wearer (e.g., the embodiments illustrated in Figures
1A-1H, 2A-B, 3A-D,
4, and 5A-B) such that the at least one light emitter and at least one
photodetector can be
operated to detect alignment of the target (e.g., a portion of subsurface
vasculature) proximate to
and/or within the wrist of the wearer. In some examples, the mount includes an
adhesive, and
mounting the wearable device to the external body surface (810) includes
activating, applying,
and/or exposing the adhesive and adhering the wearable device to the external
body surface.
[00140]
The method 800 also includes detecting, by the controller, alignment of the at
least one light emitter and at least one photodetector relative to the target
(820). In some
embodiments, detecting alignment of the at least one light emitter and at
least one photodetector
relative to the target (820) could include operating the at least one light
emitter and at least one
photodetector to detect the location, orientation, or some other information
about the disposition
of the target. ln some embodiments, the location of the target relative to the
at least one light
48
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
emitter, at least one photodetector, and/or other components of the wearable
device could be one
of one or more specified locations, such that the target is aligned relative
to element(s) of the
wearable device. Thus, the at least one light emitter and at least one
photodetector could be
operated as described above to detect the location, orientation, or some other
information about
the target and a determination that the target is aligned could be made based
on such detected
information. Additionally or alternatively, the at least one light emitter and
at least one
photodetector could be configured to detect some categorical and/or
qualitative information
about the alignment of the target. For example, the at least one light emitter
and at least one
photodetector could be configured to detect that the alignment of the target
corresponds to one of
a discrete set of states, e.g., 'aligned,' nearly aligned,' not aligned,' not
aligned in the direction
of a second photodetector of the at least one photodetector,' not aligned
between a second and
third light emitter of the at least one light emitter,' etc. That is, in some
examples the disposition
of the target relative to component(s) of the wearable device could be such
that the target is not
aligned, and detecting alignment of the at least one light emitter and at
least one photodetector
relative to the target (820) could include making such a determination.
Detecting alignment of
the at least one light emitter and at least one photodetector relative to the
target (820) could
include additional or alternative elements and/or steps.
[00141] The
method 800 for operating a wearable device could include additional steps
relating to a detected alignment of a target and/or other functions of the
wearable device. In
some examples, the wearable device could include a further sensors configured
to detect a
property of the target when the target is aligned relative to the at least one
light emitter, at least
one photodetector, and/or the further sensor, and the method 800 could include
detecting the
property of the target using the further sensor. Additionally or
alternatively, one or more
photodetectors of the at least one photodetector could be configured to detect
a property of the
target when the target is aligned relative to the one or more photodetectors,
and the method 800
could include detecting the property of the target using the one or more
photodetectors. This
could include, responsive to the detection of the alignment of the at least
one light emitter and at
least one photodetector, using the at least one photodetector to detect light
emitted from the
target in response to light emitted by the at least one light emitter.
Further, one or more of the at
least two photodetectors and/or a further sensor could include an energy
emitter and operating
the at least two photodetectors and/or the further sensor to detect alignment
or some other
49
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
property of the target could include operating the energy emitter to emit some
energy (e.g.,
visible light, infrared light, ultraviolet light, an electromagnetic field,
heat).
[00142] In some examples, the wearable device could include means to
directly or
indirectly effect the alignment of the at least one light emitter and at least
one photodetector with
the target. In some examples, this could include the wearable device including
an actuator
configured to control the location of the at least one light emitter and at
least one photodetector
relative to the target. In such examples, the method 800 could further include
operating the
actuator, relative to the detected alignment of the target relative to the at
least one light emitter
and at least one photodetector at one or more points in time, to align the at
least one light emitter
and at least one photodetector with the target. In some examples, this could
include the wearable
device including an indicator (e.g., a display, a vibrator, a speaker, a
buzzer, an eleetro-haptic
stimulator) configured to convey some information about a detected alignment
of the target
relative to the at least one light emitter and at least one photodetector. In
such examples, the
method 800 could further include indicating, using the indicator, information
detected using the
at least one light emitter and at least one photodetector such that a user of
the wearable device
(e.g., a wearer) can adjust the location of the at least one light emitter, at
least one photodetector,
and/or other elements of the wearable device to align the at least one light
emitter and at least
one photodetector relative to the target.
[00143] The example method 800 illustrated in Figure 8 is meant as an
illustrative, non-
limiting example. Additional or alternative elements of the method and
additional or alternative
components of the wearable device are anticipated, as will be obvious to one
skilled in the art.
CONCLUSION
[00144] Where example embodiments involve information related to a person
or a device
of a person, the embodiments should be understood to include privacy controls.
Such privacy
controls include, at least, anonymization of device identifiers, transparency
and user controls,
including functionality that would enable users to modify or delete
information relating to the
user's use of a product.
[00145] Further, in situations in where embodiments discussed herein
collect personal
information about users, or may make use of personal information, the users
may be provided
with an opportunity to control whether programs or features collect user
information (e.g.,
information about a user's medical history, social network, social actions or
activities, profession,
CA 02954561 2017-01-06
, a user's preferences, or a user's current location), or to control
whether and/or how to receive
content from the content server that may be more relevant to the user. In
addition, certain data
may be treated in one or more ways before it is stored or used, so that
personally identifiable
information is removed. For example, a user's identity may be treated so that
no personally
identifiable information can be determined for the user, or a user's
geographic location may be
generalized where location information is obtained (such as to a city, ZTP
code, or state level), so
that a particular location of a user cannot be determined. Thus, the user may
have control over
how information is collected about the user and used by a content server.
[00146] The particular arrangements shown in the Figures should not be
viewed as
limiting. It should be understood that other embodiments may include more or
less of each
element shown in a given Figure. Further, some of the illustrated elements may
be combined or
omitted. Yet further, an exemplary embodiment may include elements that are
not illustrated in
the Figures.
[00147] Additionally, while various aspects and embodiments have been
disclosed herein,
other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
The various aspects
and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not
intended to be
limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following
claims. Other
embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing
from the spirit
or scope of the subject matter presented herein. It will be readily understood
that the aspects of
the present disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated in the
figures, can be
arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety of
different
configurations, all of which are contemplated herein.
51
